The Rebel and the Return
by cagedbird361
Summary: For fifteen years he thought that she was dead. But the fact that she is alive is not the only shock that Neji faced. Old enemies rise up, the past causes division, and the next generation is not as obedient as others would hope. NejixOc sequel to S
1. Chapter 1: Here Without You

Chapter 1: Here Without You

* * *

_Katana is 18_

_She knew that she was dying._

_ It was the only thing that could explain why her body was feeling so heavy, why the indistinguishable voices warbled with horror and worry, why the lights were blurring and bleeding into the dark ceiling, and why her breathing seemed to echo in her ears in a shallow wheeze._

_ She let her head fall back, but it did not come to rest on the pillow that had been beneath her. It continued to fall, and her body followed quickly, as if sinking into a dark ocean. The surface grew blacker and blacker as she receded from the world of the living, plunging farther and farther into the realm of the dead. _

_ There were hands all around her, the hands beneath her bearing stronger grasps and were pulling her deeper into their clutches, coiling around her to secure their hold on the recalcitrant spirit that had slipped from their grasp too many times. The hands above were losing hold and were letting her fall away, futilely groping for her form but to no avail. _

She stared at the pinprick of light, the last traces of her hope of surviving. So this is it. I finally couldn't make it. The hands wrapped around her, blinding her and binding her to pull her down into the clutches of the underworld.

_ But something jogged her memory. Something skirted the back of her mind and she remembered an oath she had sworn. _I can't die now. No matter what. I have something I need to live for.

In an instant, the hands burst from around her, repelled by an alien force that no science could explain. And the light was crashing down, the pinprick swelling to a sky in milliseconds. She broke the surface and found herself gasping for breath, flat on her back and shaking with cold sweat.

_ "Thank Kami," a person beside her said. She looked up to the speaker, her chest heaving as she tried to return the breath her body had been denied. "For a second, we thought that we lost you."_

_ "Yeah…" She mumbled on a breath, immobile except for her racing heart and struggling lungs. She closed her eyes and felt the darkness begin to envelope her again, but this darkness was benign; it was the darkness of sleep. As exhaustion claimed her consciousness, she head the first cries: the first breath of a newborn infant._

_-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-_

_ "You really scare me sometimes."_

_ She looked to the other woman and slightly raised one eyebrow, her entire body still weak and aching. Her voice had yet to recover its full tone and power. "What?"_

_ "I have to make sure you're alive every five minutes. You're certainly a deep sleeper, Katana."_

_ Katana shifted and sat up against the pillows, wincing at the pop and strain of her sore muscles and tight joints. "Only since recently. I used to wake up at the creak of a floorboard, but I've been tired for the passed several months."_

_ "Understandably." The woman was a nurse by the name of Emi who possessed lightly tanned skin and sea green eyes. She was in her late thirties and the dirty blonde hair messily pulled up to the top of her head was already graying around her temples. She was knotting her fingers into the fabric of the apron she wore, her eyes never resting on the bedridden teenager for long. The subtle glances were unsettling, and Katana finally quickly took the initiative to speak._

_ "How is…? Can I…? Where…?" Katana looked around the room, but whom she sought was not there. But it was clear to Emi what was being asked. The nurse rose from the chair she had been sitting in and left the room momentarily. She returned with a bundle and approached Katana slowly, suddenly apprehensive for some reason._

_ But Katana ignored the expression. She took the bundle into her arms as carefully as possible and cradled it close to her, staring down at the small body swathed in blankest. _

_ "He's a fighter," Emi said softly. "He pulled through the first few hours when we thought he would die. He's a lucky child."_

_ Katana looked up with widened eyes. "'He'?" She received a nod of confirmation and her eyes glassed slightly with tears. She gave a slight laugh and looked back down. "I wanted a boy. I just… I can't believe he's mine… I never thought something like this could happen to me… It's so surreal…" She let a small smile lift the corners of her mouth. "He's so small… but he's perfect."_

_ Emi gave a pained sigh, a sigh that caused Katana to look up in concern. "I needed to discuss something with you, Katana… About him." Emi ran a hand down her face and rubbed her eyes. Katana's stomach coiled in sudden nervousness. Something was wrong; so wrong that it would hinder her son forever. It was just her luck._

_ "What is it?" she questioned softly, knowing that she needed to know but was afraid to know at the same time. _

_ "Well… You're son…" Emi sighed again and bowed her head. "He's blind."_

_ Katana stared at the nurse. At first she was horrified at the fact that the child would never be able to see the world, that he would be denied the privilege of sight. But then her thoughts clicked and her eyes widened._

_ "You mean… His eyes are…"_

_ "He woke up a few hours ago for the first time and I saw the color of his eyes. They're milky white like pearls. He has no pupil whatsoever. I'm so sorry, Katana."_

_ Katana's eyes welled with tears and they were soon cascading down her cheeks. She held her son closer to her chest and bowed her head over him, her body shaking gently. Emi rested a comforting hand on the teenager's back, whispering any and all soothing words that would come to her mind._

_ But when Katana lifted her face, she did not appear distraught or agonized in any way. She was smiling larger than she ever had before. Her tears were of joy and they raced down her face faster and faster. _

His eyes were white. Like pearls.

_ "Thank Kami," Katana whispered. "_Thank Kami_!"_

_ Emi stared at Katana in utter confusion, her jaw hanging open slightly. "What are you saying?! He's blind, Katana! Why are you so happy about this?!" _

_ Katana turned her grinning face to the nurse, a gentle laugh bubbling from her being. "Because he has his father's eyes." She returned her gaze to her son and lowered her head to gently press her forehead to his. He remained asleep, his passive features making her heart swell. "And if only your father could see you," she whispered. "Hizoku."

* * *

_

"You're leaving again?"

He glanced back to the young girl standing in the doorway of her bedroom, meeting her impassive gaze. Her mouth was set in a hard line, one hand resting on the doorframe as she stared him down.

"Why are you awake at this time of night?" He inquired quietly, his voice holding no inflection. It was infrequent that he would chide the girl for menial matters such as this, but it never ceased to bother him slightly.

"Because it's that time of year again," she said coldly, her expression darkening in a way that made his breath catch in his throat. If her eyes had been darker, she would look just like her mother. "You're going out to the Memorial Stone again, and I don't like it. If you would just tell me what happened, maybe I wouldn't ask so many questions."

"Go back to bed," he murmured softly. "I'm leaving because I have a mission this time."

"Yeah right." The girl folded her arms with a scowl, her glare morphing to match one of his own. "That's the excuse you used last time, and you were here the next morning. No jounin mission takes that little time. Will you just tell me who you're mourning when you go?"

"It's none of you're concern." He continued on his way towards the door. "Maybe I'll tell you someday, but it does not matter at this point in time."

"You've been like this for my whole life, Father!" The girl took a step forward. "For as long as I've been alive, you get like this three times during the year. I only understand it when it's my birthday because that's when my mother died, but you've never told me why you get so unhappy the other two occasions."

"Go back to bed, Naiome," he said in a more forceful tone. "Don't worry yourself about things that don't involve you. I'll be back when I've completed my mission." He quickly walked through the door and closed it on his daughter's protesting voice.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"DON"T LET HIM ESCAPE!"

The voice of the jounin was smothered by another enormous explosion and several trees came crashing to the ground.

A loud throb of malicious laughter rang out once the explosion had died down as the shinobi's target fell through the trees in complete control of the situation. His smile was wide and showed off fang-like teeth, his eyes glowing a fiery vermillion as he descended through the air.

"Platoon five!" Neji called, getting the attention of a small cluster of shinobi. "Try to advance ahead of him and double back! Our best chance it to surround him!"

The man let out another peal of mocking laughter as he twisted his body to land on a tree branch. "You'll never take me alive!" he called as he leaped through the trees. "No one will catch me!"

"Neji! He's moving too fast! Even the jounin can't keep up with him!"

Neji looked over at Lee and understood what he meant: only a select few would be able to take their opponent down. The others had to be left behind.

"Let's go, Lee! Get platoon three to follow us! Now!" Neji activated his Byakugan and sprinted after their fleeing target, determined to keep him in his field of vision. His range had increased with years of training, but their target was still incredibly swift.

He was known as Ryuutsume and he had been terrorizing parts of the Hi no Kuni for several months. He was as elusive as a shadow and just as easy to catch. Some could have considered him a coward, yet many strategists considered him pure genius. He would attack important settlements or areas with major connections to Konohagakure, but he always fled before his life or objective was in danger. He chipped away at defenses slowly, like a carpenter or sculptor with deft hands, but all of the chipping was slowly adding up.

Ryuutsume had finally been successfully tracked and cornered, but even with elaborate ambush plans and strong warriors, he was able to slip from his captor's grasp and run. And now some of the strongest Leaf Shinobi were desperately struggling not to fail their mission. They were desperate not to let him escape again.

He laughed again as he moved through the forest erratically, falling from tree branches, leaping off of the flimsiest of twigs, and planting high-grade paper bombs where ever he saw fit. Neji's senses were on fire as he shouted orders and warnings to prolong the lives of his smaller team and increase the chances of accomplishing his mission. He lead the small group with Lee several steps behind him, his former teammate ready for any order or event that would require his skills.

"Give up, ninja!" Ryuutsume called with a mocking tone. "You'll never catch me! I have powers that you've never seen, and I'll send you to your death if this continues! Are you sure you want to push your luck?"

"Neji-san, what do we do?" It was one of the other jounin; he had taken their target's words to heart. "If he has techniques in his arsenal that we haven't seen, we're no match."

"Even with advanced and unknown techniques, we have the advantage of numbers," Neji responded coldly. He was not enjoying the distractions while he needed to form a plan of action. "We need to get him surrounded. I'll go on ahead and—"

"Not leaving? Then you asked for it!" Ryuutsume turned and wove an extended pattern of seals, his crimson eyes flashing with arrogance. A torrential wave of fire burst from his mouth like a flaming gale of the strongest wind. The trees ignited and Neji came to a crashing halt on the next branch he landed on. He sprang off the other way as the branch was consumed by fire beneath him and the flames pursued.

The fire spread exponentially and Neji cursed as he was forced to retreat from the blaze and his fleeing target. The fired was spreading too quickly for him to be able to go around it, and he turned to the group that had been following him.

"Do any of you have suiton chakra?" he questioned hastily. No one responded at first, but one jounin quietly spoke up.

"It's not my main element, but I've dabbled in it a little."

"Good enough." Neji quickly beckoned him to follow. "Go in front of me and make a path though the fire. It only has to be large enough for the both of us. Go!"

The jounin looked nervous to have been called upon so suddenly with so much demanded of him, but he did as he was ordered. He pulled a canteen from his waist pouch and wove seals, quickly manipulating the liquid to quell a small area of the blaze. But it was too little and quickly evaporated.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry," the jounin sputtered. "The flames are too powerful."

Neji was at a momentary loss when the trees around him suddenly began to shift. They stretched and melded together, moving to form a cage around the fire and seal shut, instantly quelling the blaze as it was denied a source of oxygen. Neji turned to see a figure crouching several meters away from him with his palms flat on the ground. He lifted his head and sighed, a small smirk lifting his features.

"Sorry that I'm late. Getting older has its downsides."

"Yamato-san!" Lee cried, beaming at the Anbu. They had not seen their comrade in several years after he had been made leader of Root in Danzou's place.

"No time for reunions." He rose to his feet and brushed off his hands. "We have a terrorist to catch."  
Neji, Lee, Yamato, and the remaining platoon members shot off in the direction that Ryuutsume had fled. Neji scanned the forest wildly, searching for any sign of their target. There were several snapped branches and the occasional paper bomb, but there was no obvious trail that could be detected.

"He moves like lightening," Lee said with wonder. "How can he have such speed?"

"There is something different with his chakra," Neji said as they quickened their pace. "It was almost something like when Naruto would control the Kyuubi." As he thought the situation through, his stomach twisted. It was terribly familiar to another type of chakra control he had once witnessed long ago. The red eyes and sharp fangs… It was almost like—

A flicker of movement caught the edge of his sight and Neji instantly took action. He ran forward in a burst of speed and the others followed him. Ryuutsume seemed to be moving slower and was under the impression that he had fought off his pursuers. Neji made sure to lead his group around the paper bomb-rigged trees so nothing would alert him of their approach. But he happened to take a random backwards glance and spotted the shinobi.

Ryuutsume instantly rocketed forward and laughed even louder than before. "You sure are persistent! Just for coming farther than any other of my enemies, I'll give you a treat! You get to see a jutsu no one else has!" He turned to face them and sunk his teeth into his thumb.

"A kuchiyose!" Lee cried. "Watch out!"

They braced themselves as Ryuutsume wove the necessary seals and slammed his hand down on a tree branch. The smoke that erupted was an enormous plume, and the group quickly leaped out of the way as the monstrous creature burst forth. All except Neji.

He was rooted to his tree branch, eyes wide as the creature barreled forward. It bellowed loudly and raked its claws over the junction of the tree branch and the truck, sending Neji falling to the ground. The Hyuuga barely came to his senses to break his fall with chakra, his mind still too stunned by the creature. It roared again and came to stand over him, brilliant carmine eyes shimmering in contrast against its black scales. And the monster stopped just before it attacked as it locked Neji's gaze; the creature recognized Neji just as much as he recognized it.

It was a dragon. A dragon by the name of Shura-Tatsu. A dragon Neji had not seen in fifteen years. A dragon whose last summoner had been killed.

"I-Im-Impossible," Neji whispered. The dragon stared down at him, it's ferocious snarl fading and its eyes widening with shock. "No one… No one should be able to summon you. The only person who could have taught—"

"What's the matter, Shura-Tatsu?" Ryuutsume called, his mocking tone still present. "Can't find it in your heart to kill a shinobi from your other summoner's village?"

_Other summoner?! What is he saying?! It can't possibly be that…!_ Neji stared up at the dragon as a snarl rippled from its throat. He was still too stunned to rise to his feet or protect himself in any way. But the dragon remained idle and made no move to attack.

"I will not harm your team," the dragon said through gritted fangs in a deep tone that only the Hyuuga could hear. "Just capture this man. He does not deserve a title as our summoner."

The dragon gave a roar and slashed at a pile of tree branches that had fallen beside Neji and buried the Hyuuga under a thin layer. The dragon leaped after the others and let loose a jet of flames, but its aim was directed to not hit any of them.

"What is that overgrown lizard doing?" Neji heard Ryuutsume growl from a tree branch above him. "Why do they never act as I wish them to? The Enchantress lied, that infernal woman!"

_Enchantress?_ Neji could not think any further before the dragon gave a bellow and the ground shook, followed by the cries of several of the other jounin. Neji saw them departing with his Byakyugan, and only Lee and Yamato were remaining. They ran at Ryuutsume with violent expressions, prepared to attack with the intent to kill.

"Wait!" Neji called, rising from under the tree branches and sprang up to meet them. "Capture him alive!"

"What?" Lee cried. "But that has never worked! We have the opportunity, so let us kill him!"

"You can't!" Neji hissed, leaping in front of Lee and Yamato. "He has information I need."

Ryuutsume sprang backwards with another laugh, avoiding the palm thrust that Neji had directed to his chest. Neji quickly pursued with Lee and Yamato at his side, and the three of them quickly had Ryuutsume surrounded. His speed had decreased greatly with the lack of energy; summoning one of the strongest dragons and performing such a powerful katon took an incredible amount of chakra. Yet he still fought incredibly well.

He dodged every kick or punch that Lee sent his way, ducked away from the Jyuuken strikes that Neji aimed at his keirakukei, and slipped away from the pillars and tendrils of wood Yamato created. With his mind set only on defense, Ryuutsume was obviously tiring fast with the strain of fighting three high-level jounin. His movements were awkward as he attempted to slip around attacks without leaving himself open, but he could not hold out for very long.

Neji predicted an opening and successfully caught him on the shoulder with a palm thrust and Ryuutsume staggered back towards Lee. The Green Beast, still not giving up the name, slammed his foot into the terrorist's back and sent him sprawling forward into the dirt. Yamato was quick to bring the roots of several trees forward and form a cage around him. And as quickly as they had gotten him isolated, Ryuutsume was captured.

"How is this possible? How could you capture me?" Ryuutsume was gasping for breath and weakly clutching the wooden bars of his cage. He stared at them in awe. "Mokuton? The combination of doton and suiton chakra in such high amounts was perfect to stop my katon. I though only the Shodai Hokage could…" He lowered his head and sunk to the ground, his shaggy black hair falling in his face. "I guess the Enchantress was right. The Leaf shinobi are a formidable force. I was foolish to fight against you guys."

"Who is this Enchantress you speak of?" Lee questioned before Neji could. "She seems to know a lot about us. Is she your leader?'

"Leader?!" Ryuutsume barked with exhausted laughter. "Don't be stupid. That witch only paid me back after I saved the life of her snot-nosed demon-child. She told me not to attempt my plan to destroy Konohagakure, that it would end in my death. But I got pretty far, didn't I?" He looked up with a crooked smirk. His eyes were dimming to a dull shade of grey and his ragged hair seemed to recede back into his skull and become short but no less unkempt. His teeth dulled and lost their fanged edges, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Shura-Tatsu gave a deep-throated growl and cast Neji a final glance before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Well, considering everything that other teams had reported, I thought that he would be a more difficult foe to battle." Yamato raised a few more roots to add support to the cage. "But he fell quiet easily actually. Oh look. The medics and interrogation squad are here to transport him."

Sakura and Ino were quick to appear before them, flanked by a large group comprised of members of both of their squads. They swiftly began shouting orders and taking over the entire situation, relieving the three jounin of their duty. Lee was grinning about the success and Yamato seemed highly satisfied. But Lee caught sight of Neji and the grin faded quickly. The Hyuuga was still staring at the place where the dragon had previously been standing, his eyes glazed as if he were about to pass out.

"Neji? Are you okay?" Lee took a cautious step forward and rested a hand on his teammate's shoulder. But Neji reacted and swiped his hand away, running off in the opposite direction. "Neji? Wait, Neji!" Lee went sprinting after the Hyuuga, ignoring the concerned and confused glances that followed them.

Neji did not run for very long and came to a halt only about thirty meters from where the others were securing Ryuutsume. He set his hand against a tree to steady himself, his breathing much more labored than it should have been. Lee caught up with him within seconds, but stopped several paces away from his friend.

"Neji, what is wrong?"

"How could this happen?" The Hyuuga murmured, snapping his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. "I don't understand." He slammed his fist into the tree, gouging a chunk out of the bark and spraying wood chips in a wide radius.

Lee took a cautious step back. He had only seen Neji get this angry several occasions before, and someone always nearly lost their life. "What are you talking about? What has happened?"

Neji turned to glare at him, his eyes filled with fury masking the slightest hint of despair that it could have been imagined. "Did you see what that man summoned, Lee? You are aware of what that creature is, correct?"

"Yes," Lee said slowly, unsure as to what was trying to be said. "It was a dragon—"

"Exactly, Lee!" Neji punched the tree again, causing Lee to recoil and lift his hands to fend off the shards of tree bark. "It was a dragon! There are supposed to be no dragon summoners left in this world!"

"What are you talking about, Neji? You're not making any sense!" Lee was scared. Neji had only been _this _emotional three times in his life. Something was defiantly wrong.

"Someone had to teach him that Kushiyose, Lee," Neji said in a deathly quiet tone, gripping the rim of one of the holes he had punched in the tree until the splintered wood drew blood from his palm. "There was only one person who could have done that: the 'other summoner' that he mentioned."

Lee blinked in confusion. "I still don't understand what—"

"Weren't you listening to him, Lee?!" Neji whirled around and took several harsh steps towards his teammate, causing the Green Beast to retreat. "He said that an 'enchantress' taught him. A woman who must have known a good deal about Konoha to warn him that it was foolhardy to attack us."

"I still do not get what you are trying to tell me. That 'enchantress' could be anyone."

"How many kunoichi do you know can summon dragons?" Neji's voice was tight, his knuckles white with the force of his clenched hands. Lee's eyes suddenly widened; his memory, luckily, was slightly better than Gai's when it came to previous encounters with people.

"Wait a minute. You're not suggesting that… But, Neji, you were there when—"

"I know what happened, Lee. I know what I've been through… " Neji cast his gaze downward and rubbed his hand over his face. His mind was racing, desperately trying to wrap around the situation and make sense of what he had learned.

"But that was fifteen years ago, Neji."

"I don't care." The Hyuuga's heart wrenched harder the more he thought about it. He had endured so much suffering, so much agony, so many years of despair. And now he had no idea of what to think. "I need to talk Ryuutsume. He'll tell me what I need to know."

"Neji, they will not let you! He is an A-rank criminal. They will not let you be present at the interrogations. And these matters are nothing compared to national affairs."

"You wouldn't understand, Lee," Neji murmured. "You didn't know her like I did. You haven't endured what I have." The Hyuuga met Lee's black eyes. "I just need to know who that summoner is. I need to know if… if it's her."

"But that is impossible. How could it be that way after fifteen years? If she was alive, she would have come back by now."

Neji quickly shoved Lee's point out of his mind. He began to walk back towards the direction of where they had captured Ryuutsume.

"And what will Naiome think of this? Have you even told her about any of that part of you life."

Neji froze. The thought had not crossed his mind in the least. But he set his jaw and looked back to Lee.

"What ever happens, I just need to know whether or not the 'enchantress' is her. Once I know, I'll decide from there."

"But this is crazy, Neji," Lee continued, catching up quickly. "It just does not make any sense."

"Sense or not, I need to know. Just so my conscience will rest easy. Remember, I was the reason that she… died." The word seemed odd now. Everything seemed odd and out of place. And Neji felt as if he had finally been given the change to fly free: that hope and solace from the agony he had suffered for fifteen years was finally being offered. But he also felt smothered and crushed, as if he had been living a lie the whole time and was missing a vital part of his existence. And no one had bothered to tell him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Neji reached for the door handle, but paused and turned around, meeting pearl eyes that matched his own.

"Awake again," he murmured softly, folding his arms over his chest. "Why do you always intercept me?"

"Because I don't want any more secrets. I want truth, Father. Don't you think I deserve to know what's going on?" Naiome's glare was cold and her stance was defiant, hints of both of her parents visible.

"I don't think it is necessary," Neji responded. "Not now at least."

"Then when? Why are you always doing this to me? You never give me a straight answer. Never! You only tell me things about my mother, but that's all! What about you father? I know the clients of the missions that I'm assigned to better than I know you!"

Neji cast his eyes down and turned towards the door. "This will all make sense one day. One day, you will understand."

"Yeah, if I stick around that long," Naiome hissed.

"You have six more years before you are legally allowed to live on your own," Neji reminded her, his voice becoming slightly stricter.

"Not if I join the Anbu."

Neji visibly tensed. Naiome knew that if there was one thing that bothered her father, it was the Anbu. He had been scouted his whole life and attempts to recruit him were frequent, but he had only been among their ranks once for a single mission. For reasons that Naiome was ignorant to, he had left he organization and refused to ever join again. But she knew that there was an underlying reason besides the strenuous conditions and harsh missions. And it was known by the both of them that his bird-shaped mask was patiently waiting for the day when he finally decided to rejoin.

"Go back to sleep," Neji said firmly, using a harsher tone than normal. "I will speak with you again in the morning."

"That's what you always say," she grumbled. "Maybe you'll keep your word this time instead of running off on a mission."

Neji closed the door behind him a little more forcefully than normal. He would never have dreamed of being so disrespectful to -_his_ father. But he could not find it in his heart to blame Naiome. They had never had the closest relationship, and he knew that he was far from the ideal parent. She had endured similar events that he had in his childhood, but her bitterness not only extended to the entire Main Branch of the Hyuuga Clan, but to him as well. And he could only hope that when he found the necessary means to explain everything to her, she would be able to forgive him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Neji?" Ino looked a little less than appalled to see the Hyuuga walk through the door of the interrogation wing of the police department. "What are you doing here?" She was sitting at the front desk with a nail file in her hands and unfinished paperwork in front of her.

"I was ordered here by the Hokage," Neji responded calmly. It had not been as difficult to persuade Naruto to give him the mission as it would have been with the previous Fire Shadows; although finally attaining his dream of being the leader of the Village, the jinchuuriki still held an affinity for his friends. And he had a debt to pay to the Hyuuga. "I have some further questions for Ryuutsume."

"Really? But we questioned him about everything the Hokage asked us to. Did he tell you some things before you captured him?"

"Yes. It is my belief that he has a… 'leader' of a kind." It had been the only way that he had convinced Naruto to grant him the mission.

"But we asked him about that already."

"I believe I have an idea of who that… 'leader' is."

"Where's your mission scroll?"

Neji presented the document and Ino quickly read it over. "Alright. I'll go with you and be an encouraging factor if he refuses to talk." She stood up and removed a ring of keys from her belt. With the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques, Ino had followed in her father's footsteps and become a formidable interrogation shinobi. She had trained diligently to strengthen her genjutsu as much as she could, and she was the most common kunoichi to be sent on seduction missions. And Neji was still immune to her appearance as much as he had been in the first Chuunin Exams he took.

Ino led him down into a basement level, lined with heavily guarded shinobi and state of the art defense systems. She showed one of the guards Neji's mission scroll and he began barking orders to the other guards. They moved in highly organized ways, pulling Ryuutsume out of his cell and escorting him to one of the many interrogation rooms. Ryuutsume was forced into a chair at one side of the room and was flanked by two guards that were ready to strike if anything went the wrong way. Neji stood adjacent to the terrorist with Ino at his side, and she gave him a nod to begin.

Neji realized that he had no idea about how to begin his questioning. He could not blatantly ask the identity of the terrorist's leader; suspicion would rise if he blurted the name of a shinobi who had been dead for fifteen years. It far from encouraged to interrogate criminals for personal gain.

"Before in the forest, you said that an 'enchantress' taught you how to summon dragons," Neji began, trying to choose his words carefully.

"Still on that again?" Ryuutsume let out a mocking thrill of laughter, causing the guards at his sides to tense. He studied Neji carefully as if trying to place his face to someone else he knew. "I told you, I have no affiliation with her."

"Who is she?"

"What does it matter? Why is it important?"

"It's common for criminals to deny knowing their bosses," Ino spoke up. "If this woman is you're leader, it's obvious that you would claim that she is nothing."

"Really? Then I'll tell you what I know. It's not like I care what happens to her." Ryuutsume leaned back in his chair as if getting comfortable. He did not seem too perturbed about being in the interrogation room. "I met her about six years ago. She was being chased through the village I was staying in by a band of strange people; I didn't bother to get to know them or find out who they were. I had come from a minor Shinobi Village, so I was experienced in chakra control, but I was exiled. So she came tearing through the village like a bat out of Hell with her kid running behind her.

"The kid tripped, which is understandable because he was wearing a blindfold." Ryuutsume ignored the confused looks he received. "She turned back to start fighting off her pursers, but one got her kid. She started freaking out and I took action 'cause, you know, it seemed like the right thing to do." He continued to casually lean back as if he were relaxing and telling a story in a local pub. "Once I saved the kid, she summoned a dragon and wiped out the rest of the pursuers. After that, she wouldn't stop thanking me and said that she would give me anything for saving her kid. And, of course, I asked to learn that Kuchiyose."

"What did she look like?" Ino questioned. Neji was glad that she had taken the initiative for him.

"Well, she was wearing a mask most of the time. I only saw her face once, and it was when she was asleep and her hair was blocking my sight. She had brown hair that was about as long as this guy's, if not longer." He motioned to Neji. "She was short, just about over five foot, and wore all black all the time." He scratched the back of his neck as if trying to unearth more information. "That's about all I remember. It was a while ago… Oh, and she had scars. Lots of scars. And from an educated guess, she had them all over. And that's about as much as I can remember."

"And the child?" Neji took his turn to question.

"Eh, that kid was strange. I never saw him without his blindfold, but he could move as if it did nothing to block his sight. And I never saw him without her. He was really strange and barely spoke a word. The word on the wind was that he was a demon that the enchantress had summoned to pose as her son. He sure as hell was odd enough to have been a demon."

"Where is this enchantress located?" Ino had been writing on a notepad the entire time, her large handwriting nearly covering two pages.

"I dunno. She was nomadic for the most part, always fleeing from some people clad in black. But during the time that I was with her, she went back to this one mountain in a no-man's land between the Kusa no Kuni and the Taki no Kuni. It was like a safe zone for a little while. Everyone there knows of the Enchantress of the Ridge. Just go there and ask around and you'll find her in no time. But I assure you, she's got nothing to do with me. Now, is there anything else that I can answer for you?"

Ino looked to Neji, who had paled considerably. "What weapons did she have?"

"Jeez, is she like, a long lost friend that you might know?" Ryuutsume ignored the fact that Neji seemed to flinch and his glance fell to the ground.

"Yeah, Neji," Ino said with slight concern. She _had_ noticed his reaction. "Do you know this 'enchantress'?"

"What weapons did she have?" he repeated firmly.

Ryuutsume rolled his eyes and rubbed his face with a sigh. "You're really making me dig through the archives here. She had this scroll that she carried around on her belt. She said that she had about eight swords sealed within the thing, but I only ever saw her wield four at a time. Other than that, just the normal shinobi weapons."

"Did she tell you a name?" Ino asked. "I should have just asked that to begin with."

Ryuutsume laughed. "I would have told you, wouldn't I have? She just went by the Enchantress 'cause she didn't want anybody to know that she was a shinobi. Said that it was better that some people didn't know she existed. Looks like I spilled the beans on that one, eh?" He laughed again. "But I never got a real name. Can't help you on that one. So is there anything else? Want me to tell you what she likes to eat, too?"

"Anything else, Neji?" Ino seemed slightly annoyed or confused.

"N-No," Neji said softly. "I have no further questions."

"Good. Can I go back to sleep now? I was dreaming of a way to break out of this place."

Neji did not stay long enough for Ryuutsume to be locked away again. He returned with Ino to the front desk and examined the notes she had taken. And he became convinced. He would realize later that he much have blanched and turned a sickly shade of green, because Ino had asked him if he wanted her to call a medic. But he had turned and left quickly, his head spinning with unanswered questions being taunted by the information he now knew.

By the time he returned to the Hyuuga Compound, he actually felt as if he would lose consciousness. Closing the door of his room behind him and turning the lock firmly, he suddenly realizing how difficult it was to breath. He moved to the table beside his bed and opened the drawer. He lifted the false bottom and retrieved the item he had kept stored there for fifteen years.

It was a choker necklace. There was a jewel shaped like a dragon's eye set between two equal lengths of black cloth. The red jewel had a sliver of onyx in the center, but it had several small gouges and scuffs spanning across the surface. The cloth was ripped and fraying. It might have looked like a piece of junk to most, but Neji clasped it tightly in his hand as he sat down on his bed. He brought it to his heart and closed his eyes.

_For fifteen years I have been here without you. For fifteen year we have been separated by insurmountable miles. I've been lied to this whole time. It's been so many years… how can I look at this the same…? I've been so cold to everyone. But I've never stopped dreaming… and it seems that nothing that has happened has lessened my feelings for you. I thought that you were dead. But now I'm sure of it… Katana, you're alive.

* * *

_Author note: HI EVERYONE!!!! I'm back! So here's the scoop: at the beginning of each chapter, there will be a flashback of Katana's life with Hizoku and I'm using "The Time Traveler's Wife" format where I tell you the ages. Just clearing that up. Everything after the flashback will be real time, or should be at least. So I'm glad to all of my readers who are following onto this story, and those of you who have just clicked on it because it looked like an interesting read, I suggest you read the first story The Sword and the Spiral. Things will make a lot more sense. These chapters are going to be looooong for the most part so I don't end up with an S&S length story (I promised that this wouldn't be that long). So, I'll get the second one out whenever I get the chance. I hope everyone likes it, and send me some feedback!! I love reviews =D Peace out.

-cagedbird361


	2. Chapter 2: You Found Me

Chapter 2: You Found Me

* * *

_Katana is 30; Hizoku is 12_

_She was crying again. But then again, she was always crying nowadays._

_The simplest things set it off. It could have been a scent, a sight, or a mark on a tree. But he was the most frequent cause._

_She would often catch a glimpse of him, performing a certain action, giving her and expression, or saying a certain response. She would stare wide-eyed with her lips slightly parted before either turning or darting away while blubbering into tears._

_They were sitting on the ridge outside of the small stone lodge that she had constructed several years ago overlooking the valley. The last lights in the village in the midst of the trees below them were finally winking out, and darkness was soaking the land heavily. The wind was blowing against them and up the mountain, catching his hair and blowing it out behind him in long, flowing tendrils. She had seen this, sitting a short ways behind him as he stood, and he could sense the tears beginning to course down her cheeks. He could almost hear her rubbing her right palm, the palm with the burn scar spanning across the surface._

_"Mother, can you—"_

_"I'm sorry," she said quickly, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve and tugging her fingerless gloves more securely down over her hands. "I really have to stop this."_

_"What is it this time?" It was almost a guessing game now: what unknown experience makes Mother cry? And this time, he was almost certain of the answer. "It's my father again, isn't it?"_

_"It's just… You look so much like him right now…" She trailed off and lowered her gaze, lost in her own mind as the wind died down._

_"Can you tell—?"_

_"I'm sorry, I should have said nothing," she hastily cut in, rising to her feet and brushing herself off. "Don't worry yourself. Forget about it."_

_"You always say that. You'd think that I'm old enough to know now. You told me that you would tell me everything I wanted to know when I was older. Mother—"_

_"I said that I would tell you what you wanted to know when you were older and the time was right. The right time isn't now."_

_Silence ensued. His gaze darkened into a glare, his hands clenching into fists. She met the violent expression with the aloof look that was customary of her heavily lidded eyes. Her expression had become more and more distant over the years, her weary body continuing on long after it should have given out. He knew little of what she had been through before he was born, but from the few snippets of episodes that she had given him, her past was dismal._

_"Why won't you just tell me? What harm could be done?" His voice was deathly quiet, the calm before the storm that threatened to break loose._

_"We've been through this countless times, Hizoku. It's safer if you knew nothing about your father."_

_"Why? Was he a monster or something? Were you ashamed of him? What was so wrong with him that you won't even tell your own son?!" His tone rose, the skin next to his right eye beginning to rise slightly as his chakra began to flow more rapidly._

_She looked hurt, as if he had punched her in the stomach. "Don't say that, Hizoku. I've told you this before… but your father was a great man. You have to believe that."_

_"Well you're not making the most convincing argument! I'm starting to think that he was an arrogant jerk that forced you to say all these nice things about him before he left us and died! If he was so great, then why isn't he here?! What kind of 'great man' does that?!"_

_"STOP IT!"_

_Hizoku froze. He could count on one hand how many times she had raised her voice to him. The tears in her eyes were of anger and agony, not the usual despair or pain of something that had been lost._

_"Don't. Ever. Say. That. About. Your. Father."_

_A chill ran up his spine. He had only heard her voice gain the deathly edge once before when she had spoken to a man who had once tried to kill him._

_"It was my choice to leave him, Hizoku! It was never his fault! I did it to protect you and I disregarded myself! I left the one thing in this world that I was happy with so I could keep you safe! I gave up _everything_ for you!" She buried her face into her gloved hands and sunk to the ground, shaking with the efforts to suppress her sobs. He stared at her with a dropped jaw, blinking in shock. She looked up at him after several minutes, her body still trembling slightly. "So please… don't say things like that about your father. Just do that for me… please…"_

_"But… You said that he was… dead… Why would you leave him if…" He was rooted to his place._

_"He's worlds away, Hizoku. He may very well be dead." She wiped her eyes and sniffed, looking up at him. "I have no idea what his status is right now. You're the only thing I have. I just…"_

_Hizoku released the tension in his fists and slowly walked over to her. He shyly sat at her side and he was locked in her embrace before he could blink. She hugged him tightly, the same way she did whenever he had a close brush with death, as if letting him go would mean that he would disappear. He returned the embrace and felt her kiss the side of his head, and his guilt instantly overwhelmed him. It was his flaw: rebellious anger that was closely flanked by culpability. But the blame had gotten less with each year he lived._

_"I just don't want to lose you, Hizoku. If I didn't have you, I don't know what I would do." She slowly released her embrace and wiped her eyes again. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I shouldn't have done that."_

_"No, Mother. I shouldn't have…"_

_The look she gave him made his voice trail off. It was a look he was used to seeing, one that said "if only you knew what I did". She extended her hand and touched his cheek, brushing back one of the shorter strands of hair that he allowed to drape across his face._

_"You have every right to question me. But just don't assume the worst. Not all things are as they seem, Hizoku. Remember that."_

_He allowed his gaze to fall to the ground. "But it would help if you gave me a few answers, Mother. I'm sick of being in the dark all the time. Can't you just tell me his name or what he looked like?"_

_She sighed and smoothed his hair behind his ear. "His name is the last thing that I can tell you. And you already know what he looks like." She gave a small smirk and tapped him gently on the nose. "Except for your left eye, you look nearly identical to him." Hizoku cast his gaze down, painfully aware of the difference in coloration of his eyes: his right eye was a pearl-like white with a gray tinge, but his left eye was a piercing brown. It had been as such ever since he was eight years old._

_"So why did you leave him? What are you protecting me from?"_

_She hung her head and rose to her feet, gazing out over the ridge to the dark valley. "I left because I was pregnant with you. At the time…there was a lot of confusion in my life, and I knew that there was no safe place for us in the world that I was in."_

_"Konoha," he said softly. It was just a word to him, the name that identified his mother's homeland. But other than that and the small tales his mother told like fables, he knew nothing of the place._

_She seemed to tense as he said the word, but the curious gleam in his shining eyes as they caught the moonlight soothed her. "That's right. Konoha was no place for a woman with a questionable past and unreliable alliances and an unborn child that might be a part of one or two powerful clans." His brow knitted with concern: he had heard her speak of clans, but she had never said that they had been powerful. But she continued before he could inquire any more. "And you know what I'm protecting you from."_

_"Not exactly," Hizoku said with a shake of his head. "I know it's the people who come after us, those wraith-like things, but you've never told me who they were. You said that you didn't know, but I think you do now."_

_She seemed to pale under the silver light. "I was able to get an idea, but I don't want to say anything until I confirm my suspicions. Besides, my idea doesn't make any sense."_

_He knew that she was hiding something. She had moved her head to the right slightly, causing her brown hair to fall over the left side of her face as she had styled it. It hid the dark scar that ran from the outside of her left eye down to her jaw line. It was a habitual action that meant that she was hiding something. Something about her past._

_"It's late, Hizoku. We should get some rest."_

_He sighed. It was the words she gave when she wanted to avoid being faced with more questions. "Yes, Mother."_

_They walked in silence to the stone lodge not far away from the ridge and slipped into their respective rooms; the building had only a room for each of them and another multipurpose area. But she paused in her doorway and turned back to him, her eyes somber._

_"I'm sorry, Hizoku. I wish with all my heart that things weren't like this. I wish I could give you a better life. I wish that you didn't have to face the world like this with me. I wish I had made different choices in my life. Maybe things wouldn't be this way." She hung her head and rubbed her eyes._

_"Please, Mother, don't apologize. I don't mind it. Really, I don't." He stood in front of her, an earnest note in his voice. "The only thing I could ask for is less secrets, but every family has secrets, right? Maybe not as many as us, but other kids have boring lives. I like the action that we face, even if it's dangerous sometimes."_

_She looked down at him with a small smirk and he could almost sense the pride that was swelling in her heart. "I don't think I could have been given a better son. I'm so happy that you have grown up to the person you are today. I would never ask for anything different." She kissed his forehead and ruffled his smooth hair before stepping into the stone lodge and disappearing into the darkness of the rooms._

_"If only you would tell me things, Mother," Hizoku whispered. "Maybe then I could say the same for you as you do for me."_

* * *

She was not home.

It was the one thing that bothered him about Naiome: she would disappear for the whole day and would not return until well after the sun had set. He had had the excuse of no parental company to stay out late to train when he was a child, but the same could only half stand for Naiome. She had been training more and more recently, and she only returned to the clan complex for a few hours of the night. And any discussion he attempted to begin with her was met with curt responses and contemptuous inflections.

Neji waited, slightly anxious, for his daughter to return, tugging at the straps that secured his bracers to his forearms. He could hear the faint creak of floorboards from somewhere in the complex, the few restless branch family members patrolling the corridors in a perpetual pattern. He could hear one set of footsteps growing closer at a constant rate and he did not need to activate his Byakugan to know that Naiome had finally returned.

She locked his eyes as she entered, her eyebrows rising in shock that was slow to fade. "What the—?"

"We need to discuss something," he said quietly.

"Obviously. Why on earth are you wearing an Anbu uniform? Did you actually join?"

Neji lifted the bird-shaped mask that had been hanging from his belt and stared down at it blankly, mouth set in a hard line. "I have not officially joined, but the mission that I have been assigned requires one of Anbu caliber. It was the only way that I could receive the assignment."

Naiome quirked one of her eyebrows, her expression taking on its typical cold aura. "This mission seems important to you. Why is that?"

Neji closed his eyes and sighed softly. "I might have the chance to… meet with an old friend. Well, maybe 'friend' is too light of a term to describe her."

Naiome gave him a questioning expression and folded her arms over her chest. "What are you talking about?"

"You seem to have caught on that certain times of the year are difficult for me."

"Yeah. My birthday, and those two other times separated by nine months."

"Yes… Those other times are… concerning this friend that my mission involves."

"But why would a friend of yours be a part of an Anbu-ranked mission?"

"Because she might be the leader of the terrorist that has been threatening the Village. And I witnessed her death fifteen years ago."

"Wait. A dead woman is leading an assault on Konoha? And she's a friend of yours?"

"It will be difficult for you to understand. You would have to know what my relationship with her was and what she was like. But the point is that I have to go and search for her on the lead that the terrorist gave us. And if it actually is her… I'm going to do everything in my power to bring her back."

"Why is she so special? Who is she exactly?"

"She was…" Neji faltered. He could not find an appropriate word to tell his daughter. And he was quite certain that it would take far too long to tell her everything that was needed for her to fully understand. "She was a strong kunoichi. Her endurance was unparalleled and she had to burden far more than any human should be able to withstand. She meant quite a lot to me."

"More than my mother?" Naiome's gaze was hard. She had always held a dark suspicion of the relationship of her parents; it was her belief that her father had forced himself to believe that he cared for her no matter how many times he denied it.  
"Don't say things like that. I loved your mother. I truly did."

Her glare remained cold and she turned her gaze to the side with an annoyed sigh. "How long will you be away for?"

"I can't be sure. It may take me as long as several weeks to over a month. You know who you can go to if you need anything."

"Yeah, all of my favorite people." She finally stepped out of the doorway and moved toward her room. "And just so you know, Lee-sensei has enrolled my team in the Chuunin Exams. They take place three weeks from now."

"Are you serious? You're far too young to compete in a competition like that! What is he thinking?!"

"I have no idea. He thinks all of his 'youthful saplings' will excel above all of the rest. Does he have any idea how dangerous those exams can be for genin as young as us?"

"Actually, he does have an idea." Neji thought back to the first Chuunin Exam he had taken, how Lee had nearly been killed by Gaara. Neji's mind then wandered to when he had fought Naruto, and how Naruto had made his promise to the Hyuuga Clan… "Are you going to enroll?"

"Of course. My teammates want to, so I won't let them down."

Neji sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Take the utmost care and be wary. Remember everything that I have taught you… and just be strong."

"Hn. You actually sound like you're worried about me." She hardened her glare as Neji met her with his own. "Just another question. You said that the two other 'difficult' times were because of this woman that you have to find. What exactly are the reasons that they are difficult?"

Neji was silent for several minutes, debating what to say. "One reasons is her… death. And the other is just a speculation I had. What I believe may have never occurred. It is not important."

"Whatever." Naiome was used to secrets and disappointments. She turned and disappeared through the door of her room.

Neji ran his hand down his face and slipped on his mask. "I only hope that things will be fine if my mission is successful."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The stares were unnerving. They came from everywhere and followed his back until he returned their gaze. Mothers held their children against them, window shudders were slammed shut, and people gave him a wide berth as he passed. And Neji could not be certain why.

He had scouted the area from the shadows prior to entering the small village, but nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. He was in the no-man's-land between Taki no Kuni and Kusa no Kuni, and the only inhabitants were tightly packed villages between the expanses of forest and occasional mountains. They were slightly more primitive from major settlements or lands with shinobi villages, but they were far from wild tribes. The people in these areas were skeptics of shinobi abilities: they knew that they existed in certain ways, but they refused to believe that the powers were anything short of witchcraft.

"Be gone, demon!" a woman hissed from the opposite side of the street. She glared angrily at Neji and moved her young child behind her. "Tell that hag not to send her monsters down on us! Leave us! We have done nothing to anger her."

Neji had changed into more casual attire, his Anbu uniform kept inside of his shoulder bag, and he could find no reason for the response he was being met with. The other people in the street seemed fearful of him, but they appeared to be gaining courage after the first woman's outburst.

"I am no demon. Why do you think that?"

"Because—"

"Don't speak to demons!" A man approached the woman and grabbed her arm. "Conversing with one will permanently blacken your spirit for the rest of your life."

"But that witch needs to stop sending her summoned creatures upon us. That smaller demon has made safe travel into the northern forest impossible, and it seems that she is resorting to use more powerful ones now."

"Are you talking about the Enchantress of the Ridge?"

The people seemed to become restless; some shifting from foot to foot while others slowly began to move away from the small group that had gathered. "Who else? Your master has been giving us trouble lately." The woman ignored the man's warning and stood defensively in front of her child as if afraid that Neji might attack.

"Where is she?"

"Shouldn't you know?"

"I'm not a demon. I don't understand why you believe that."

"You share the same eye color with the demon that is always with her. No human has the eyes of a blind man and the ability to see."

Neji's stomach twisted. _Eye color like mine? How is that possible…?_ "Tell me where she is and I will be on my way."

"Why should we trust a monster like you?"  
"If I wanted to harm you in any way, I would have done so already. I had planned to quietly ask around for the information I seek, but that does not seem to be in your best interest."

"The enchantress lives on that mountain," the man said quickly, pointing to the rock formation in the north. "Just at the ridge that you can barely see from here. But I don't advise going there. Her demon is a better guard than the bears. At least they know not to bother a man with a weapon."

Neji turned and walked off down the road as fast as he could, still aware of the many pairs of eyes cautiously watching his back. It had taken him almost a week and a half to find the correct village, but the people of the other villages had at least been civil and polite when he had questioned around for any leads. And now that he had found it so easily, the anticipation began to sink in. And the "demon" that was with her unsettled him more and more.

He walked from the outskirts of the village and into the surrounding forest. The mountain was nearly a kilometer away and Neji quickly broke into a sprint, channeling his chakra to his legs to increase his speed. He activated his Byakugan and scanned the area as he drew closer. The mountain was soon within his range, but he saw no sign of life near the ridge. Only the occasional deer or other woodland creature trotted in the path far ahead of him, but there were no humans anywhere in the forest. But Neji ran on regardless.

By now he could make out what seemed to be a stone lodge just inside the tree line of the ridge and he sped up into the direction. He could see several animals flee from his path as he bolted past them, and one of the bears that the man mentioned was lumbering off between the trees as several other animals agitatedly fled. Neji reached the base of the mountain and the ground began to slope before the incline became sharp. He wove through the trees quickly, ignoring the rocks that occasionally slid away as he ran over them.

Something abruptly crashed into him and knocked him into a tree. Neji caught his balance and whipped his head around to find the culprit, but there was nothing present that could have collided with him. The air was empty and his Byakugan revealed nothing.

"I suggest you leave quickly. I do not take well to strangers. And trespassers are dealt with harshly."

Neji whirled around in all directions, but the voice echoed off of the trees around him, its point of emission hidden. And there was no presence whatsoever to disclose the identity of the speaker.

"Who are you?" Neji called, continuing to scan the area rapidly. He was highly unnerved by the lack of presence, chakra or otherwise.

"So you're taking the ignorant approach, huh? That won't save you." The voice was male, yet had a slightly young tone, as if it came from a teenager whose voice had yet to fully mature. "Everyone knows who I am. But… you _do _look like a newcomer. I haven't seen you in the village, even if it's been a while since I've been down there." The limbs of one tree creaked and a steady pattern of ruffled leaves and arcing branches ran around Neji's position as if an enormous, invisible squirrel was darting through the treetops. "I'll let you go with a warning, but never show your face on this mountain again. I won't hesitate to take action next time."

"Are you the demon that the villagers speak of?"

"Why, yes. That just happens to be me as a matter of fact. So heed their warnings and leave this place. My patience grows thin." The movement in the trees paused and one branch sagged as the invisible creature had found a position to remain in.

"You are affiliated with the Enchantress, correct?"

"What's it to you?" The tree leaves rustled and the sound of a length of metal being removed from a case sounded, something akin to a sword being drawn from a sheath.

"I believe that she is someone I may know," Neji spoke with a dry mouth, still unnerved by the fact that he, even with his Byakugan at full power, was unable to see the "demon".

"There's no way that you're getting close to her. Especially if you used to know her. I'm giving you one last chance to leave. Go now and I will spare y—"

There was silence. No birds chirped, no wind blew, no animal scurried though the treetops, and the unseen speaker seemed to have had his throat sealed. Neji felt that he was being pressed down upon on all sides as the silence continued, his body tense in anticipation.

"Your eyes." The whisper was barely audible, but Neji could discern it in the silence. "How do you have those eyes? Those are _my_ eyes! How do you have them?!" The branch snapped up and Neji sidestepped instinctively, hearing a mass land heavily at his feet. There was an angered growl and Neji leaped back, hearing a slight whistle in the air he had just been standing in, the sound of a sword-like weapon slicing through the space with great speed.

"Damn it, you're fast." Neji retreated again as he could sense the rapid approach of the weapon once more. "I can't fight with this technique activated. I'm going to need more chakra to fight you."

Neji watched in shock as a figure materialized in front of him out of thin air, the full presence appearing as if it had never been unseen. The "demon" was a teenager holding a sword with a long, thin blade. He wore a black, high-collared shirt that clung to his lithe, muscular body. The shirt was sleeveless and Neji noticed that his arms were equally muscular, telling him that the boy was ambidextrous with his weapon. His pants were black and fell to his knees and his lower legs were bound in white cloth. There was a sheath on his back with a strap that circumvented his torso and his long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail in the middle of the back of his head. And he wore a blindfold.

"That blindfold…" Neji stared to where the boy's eyes were concealed. "It's you. You're the child of the enchantress."

"So you believe that? You're not one of the many who think that I'm a summoned monster? That's surprising. But I'm done talking. I need to defeat you so I can find out how you have those eyes!"

The teenager sprang forth and slashed his sword, forcing Neji to retreat. Just as Ryuutsume had said, the boy moved as if his vision was not obscured. He sprang forward with his sword, thrusting and jabbing, feinting movements rapidly only to angle his wrist and strike in a different direction. Neji drew a kunai and parried his blade, taken off guard and the boy's sudden speed. Neji caught a particularly strong slash on his knife, needing to brace the weapon with his other hand. He stepped forward and struck the boy in the jaw with his elbow, causing him to stagger back.

"You're strong for your age, but you're movements are not well planned. You leave yourself open." Neji lowered into his Jyuuken stance and waited for the boy to recover. He had no intention of greatly injuring the boy; he simple planned to subdue him until he saw that it was futile to fight.

"Not well planned?" The boy was facing away from him, rubbing his jaw. "Well, then I guess that I'll have to be more _direct_."

Neji felt his breath catch in his throat. The single word suddenly evoked a memory that he had almost forgotten, a memory of _her…_

The teenager whirled around with his sword raised in preparation to strike, but he froze as he became aware of Neji's position. "That… That stance… How…? Just who are you?!" The boy then lowered into a stance of his own. It was a Jyuuken stance, only he held his sword as well. "Are you mocking me? Are you impersonating me somehow?" The boy's eyebrows were raised in disbelief, but his brow furrowed and his expression grew furious. "DON'T MESS AROUND WITH ME!"

Neji saw that his chakra was circulating in the right side of his head and another immense portion flowed into his left palm. The teenager lunged forward, thrusting his palm out. Neji blocked the blow with ease and moved in with his own strike, only to meet the boy's sword. The teenager stabbed forth, and Neji narrowly dodged the weapon and was forced to jump over the boy's leg as he swept it across the ground. He rose and came after Neji with his sword. And Neji felt as if he knew the combinations. It was as if he had fought the boy before, his style strikingly familiar. Neji found that he could predict each roll of his wrist, each feinted slash, each sidestep and lunge. The boy's sword was always blocked and he too began to realize that his attacks were almost being predicted.

The teenager rose to his feet and leaped up into a tree, stabbing his sword into the trunk at his side. He was trembling with anger. "Do you know the other reasons why they call me a demon? Monsters like that are associated with Hell, and with Hell comes fire." He brought his hands together and wove a pattern of seals.

"Jutsu?!"

The boy paused his initiation and his brow furrowed. "How do you know that word?" The boy finished his seal pattern and crouched on the branch. He unleashed a tongue of flame from his mouth, the fire snaking forward and forming a ring around them. "I think I'll keep you alive just so you'll tell me what I want to know. You're too valuable to kill."

"You believe that you can defeat me?"

"I've never lost a battle against anyone who has threatened me. Although… You're not like the others." The teenager wrenched his sword from the tree and descended to the ground, holding his sword forward. The blade glinted in the firelight, seeming to glow as molten metal. "You're not going to escape." He sprang forward and Neji bearly dodged his sword thrust. Neji dropped his shoulder and buried his palm into a large gap in the boy's defenses, striking him in the stomach. The boy gave a choked gasp and stumbled back, the wind knocked out of him even if there had been no chakra paired with the attack. His sword clattered to the ground at his feet.

"Y-you're so f-fast," the teenager stammered, leaning against a tree and clutching his stomach. "A-and s-st-strong." He lifted his hand to his eyes and adjusted his blindfold, teeth gritted. The fire burned at his sides, but he seemed unaffected by the heat. "No one has e-ever fought b-back like you."

"You've most likely never fought someone like me before." Neji relaxed his body and stood straight, taking several steps forward. "All I want is for you to tell me who the enchantress is."

The teenager suddenly seemed to recover fully. "You won't get near her!" He ran forward, teeth gritted angrily and chakra flowing rapidly. It was only then that Neji realized that there was something different about his chakra; it had a different consistency than the chakra of most shinobi, as if it was thicker.

The boy flew into action, but he could have been moving in slow motion. Neji could read his movements with ease, but only because he was skilled in Jyuuken and the boy's movements were sloppy. The strikes would have been affective and intimidating against any other opponent, but Neji was entirely unfazed. The boy lunged forward and Neji parried his blows easily, standing stationary as the boy sprang and leaped about. But he was soon breathing heavily, his movements frantic as he came to the realization that he was powerless.

Neji caught the boy's wrist and pulled him forward into his other palm, striking him in the center of his chest. He refrained from using chakra to power his strike as he had before, but the force was enough to cause the boy to fall back heavily on the ground. His breath rattled in his throat, his expression panicked. He scrabbled back across the ground, searching for his sword. But Neji quickly picked it up and held it towards the boy's face.

"I mean you no harm. I only wish to know the enchantress's location."

"Why do you want to see her? Who is she to you? Who are you?!"

"I—"

"TOUCH HIM AND YOU DIE!"

Neji and the teenager's heads snapped toward the direction of the voice before another figure sprang from a tree. Neji leaped back as the other landed when he had been, avoiding the sword that would have been buried into his body. The woman rose and lifted her sword, standing in front of the boy defensively.

"Why are you here?" the teenager growled, his voice slightly higher pitched out of panic. "This was my fight!" The woman turned to him and her hands flashed with movement, landing on the boy's neck and causing him to slump into unconsciousness.

Neji stared at her as she turned back to him. She wore all black clothing in a similar style to the teenager's and her brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with bangs covering the left side of her face. There was a medium sized scroll secured around her waist and her face was covered by a mask.

"Are you the enchantress?" he asked softly, his mind slowly processing the situation. But she did not answer.

She was in front of him instantly and Neji had less than a second to raise his arm to block the sword that she swung towards his head. He took a step back to keep his balance and she followed suit, pressing him backwards. Neji shifted his arm and caused the sword to slide off and bury itself into the ground, leaving the woman's side open. She used her falling momentum to roll out of the path of Neji's knee as he attempted to attack her and she was on her feet once again. Neji lowered into a Jyuuken stance and he saw her body tense, her chakra beginning to run through her keirakukei at a faster rate. Her chakra was the same as the teenager's: thicker in consistency in a way that he had only seen rarely.

She pulled the end of her scroll loose and there was a puff of smoke and she burst forward, holding two swords. Neji had no time to draw a kunai, her speed much greater than the teenager's, and she forced him to rely on pure instincts. He leaped backwards, struggling to avoid the flames that still flared in a circle around them. She cornered him against a tree, burying one sword on either side of this chest and pinning him in place. She reached for her scroll again, but Neji took the opening to thrust his palm forward. She leaped out of the way just in time and Neji pursued her quickly, but he was not fast enough to stop her from summoning another sword.

Neji began a Jyuuken combination and parried her sword slashes, but something bothered him. Each time she succeeded in landed a blow, it was only with the flat of her blade. She was either being careless, or she was intentionally maneuvering her blade cause him no injuries.

Neji intercepted her next slash, once again only being hit with the flat of the blade, and he pushed it out of his way and left her open once again. But before he could follow up with his own attack, she leaped forward and tackled him. Neji was caught off guard and her power was far from what he expected as he was thrown off of this feet. She wrapped her arms around his chest as they reached the flames, a red barrier suddenly enveloping them. They passed through the fire and it extinguished behind them, but they landed on the steep slope of the mountain as they reached the ground.

The fall jarred him from her grasp and Neji was able to catch himself with on a tree trunk with chakra on his hands. She was not as lucky and rolled several meters down the slope before she came to a stop on an area of flat ground. She lay motionless and Neji slowly rose to his feet and made his way precariously down the slope. He reached the area where she had fallen and knelt at her side, resting a hand softly on her shoulder in the event that she was injured.

She suddenly sprang up and rammed her shoulder into his chest, causing him to lose his balance and fall back. She jumped on top of him, straddling his stomach and drawing another sword from her scroll. Neji stared up at her as she held the sword tip to his throat. Her hand was violently shaking and causing the sword to tremble, and Neji became aware of how labored her breathing sounded. Her breath hitched and she sniffed loudly, her chest shuddering as she began to cry. She clutched the front of his shirt and bowed her head, her sword arm falling to her side. It was then that he noticed that her mask was in the shape of a dragon.

Neji, with one deft movement, wrapped his arms around her and rolled over. He knocked her mask off of her face and she jerked her head with the movement, her hair splaying over the left side of her face.

"Look at me," Neji murmured, seeing tears running down her cheeks from under her hair. He stood on all fours over her, no doubt left in his mind as to her identity. "Look at me, Katana."

Slowly, she turned her face to him and stared up into his eyes, her hair still covering her left eye and cheek. Neji brushed the brown strands away and saw the scar running down her face along with her tears.

They stared at each other.

That was the only thing either of them could manage.

Tear-shined brown met pearly white with the underlying grey tinge; two colors that it was believed would never meet again.

"Fifteen years," Neji whispered, brushing a tear from her cheek. "For fifteen years I thought that you were dead."

She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. "I'm sorry. Neji, I'm so sorry."

"Don't speak." Neji wrapped his arms under her and sat up, pulling her into a tight embrace. She returned the gesture with even stronger arms, holding onto him as if to make up for the years that they had been apart. "Where were you when everything was falling apart? I've been waiting for you for years. You have some nerve to take all that I'm worth."

"Neji," she whispered into his hair. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed her voice and a shiver ran down his spine at the sound of his name. "If you only knew what I've done, what I've been through… I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize." Neji released her and dropped his bag off of his shoulder. He rummaged around through this supplies until he removed the choker with the scratched dragon-eye gem. "I made a promise to give this back, and I believe that it belongs to you."

Katana embraced him once again, burying her face into his shoulder. "You found me, Neji. You found me."

* * *

Author Note: HI EVERYONE!!!! I know you're all probably wondering where I've been and the answer is that I've been swamped with sooooo much school work that I had absolutely no time to write. Along with it came power outages and my volleyball tournaments, so I've had difficulty finding spare time. Plus I really didn't like how this chapter came out so I redid several areas and I'm still not happy with it... . So I want to talk a little about reviews. I know that this is the sequel to a veeeeeery long OC story so there probably not be many readers. I'm not the kind of mean author that says "I want this many review or I'm going on hiatus", but I want to know that I have an audience so I know that I'm not wasting my time here. So if you read this, PLEEEEEEEEASE review. It makes me incredibly happy 8D I'm on vacation in California for the next ten days, so I hope to write a lot when I'm not writing a 5 page essay, so I hope to update a few more times. And If anyone wanted to know about the part when Hizoku said "direct", check chptr 25 of S&S. K, so I'll be around or not but I really hope to be. I also want to start a KH fanfic (and I'm serious about this one, not like I was with the songfic one... I'm still getting around to that one...), so look for that in the somewhat near future. And this is a long author note, so I'm just gonna say that I own nothing of naruto except for my OCs and such. Peace out.

-cagedbird361


	3. Chapter 3: Easier to Run

Chapter 3: Easier to Run

_Katana is 24; Hizoku is 6 _

_ The final bell rang and the students rushed from the room, laughing happily and cheering as they were released from the schoolhouse. They darted outside into the waiting arms of their parents, instantly babbling on about their day and what they had learned. Mothers and fathers swept young children up into their arms and carried them off on shoulders or hips, grinning just as widely as their offspring._

_ All but one smiled greatly and laughed on their way home._

_ Hizoku silently walked from the schoolhouse and scanned the fenced-in yard carefully. He saw his classmates embracing their parents, beaming and jabbering, and looked beyond, knowing that they were not in his interest. He walked quickly between the gathered adults to a tree that grew just outside the schoolyard, breaking into a trot once he caught sight of the woman standing in the shade. She smiled gently and extended her hand, allowing him to take it before they began walking._

_ She always waited for him farther back than the other parents, knowing that she was not entirely welcome. None of them completely trusted her. They never had. The rumors were varying and harsh, but the common word was that she was not entirely human. In a way, they were right. _

_ "So how was your day?" Katana asked softly, glancing down at her son._

_ "Okay, I guess. It's boring." Hizoku raised his hand and rubbed his left eye, turning his face away from the sun and blinking rapidly._

_ "Is your eye hurting again?" Katana descended quickly and knelt in front of him, gently taking his hand and moving it from his face._

_ "A little bit. I don't know why, Mother. Do you?"_

_ "No, Hizoku. I don't know why. But stay still and I'll try to make it feel better." Katana wove her hands into a pattern of seals and rested her hands over her son's pale eye, a violet aura shimmering around the appendage._

_ "There will be no magic in this village!"_

_ Katana jumped to her feet and stood in front of Hizoku, whirling around to face the speaker. She looked to the other mother and gritted her teeth, feeling Hizoku clutch the fabric of her pants as if to further protect himself._

_ "Why do you hate me? I've done nothing wrong. What causes you to distrust me?"_

_ "That boy isn't normal." The other woman took her child's hand and led him down the street. "And neither are you. Maybe you should find a place where your kind are welcome." She walked off down the street, throwing a loathing glare behind her. _

_ Katana clenched her hands into fists. "Come on, Hizoku. Let's go home."_

_-:-:-:-:-:-:-_

_ "Are you okay?'_

_ Hizoku looked up from the worksheet he had been given for homework. Katana looked over her shoulder at him from where she stood at the counter, chopping vegetables. _

_ "You're quieter than normal. Is something bothering you?"_

_ "No, Mother." Hizoku shook his head and looked back down at his work. "I'm fine."_

_ "There's something on your mind, isn't there?"_

_ "No, Mother."_

_ "You can tell me. I know when you're lying, 'Zoku." She turned around to face him, wiping the blade of her paring knife. He remained silent. "Does if have something to do with what that woman said?" He gave no answer and Katana sighed. "You're the most difficult six-year-old to pry information out of. How's your eye?"_

_ "Better." Hizoku pushed his hair back behind his ears, it's length allowing for the action. "What do I need to learn math for anyway?"_

_ Katana smirked and pressed her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. It was their sign, the sign for when information would be given that was not to leave the room where it was spoken. "Higher levels of mathematics allow you to calculate the trajectory of a shuriken on a windy day. You can find out the amount of force you will need to take on an opponent that you may have to fight. For what you may do in the future, math is necessary. But I could probably teach you what you need to know better than the school. I won't add in the unnecessary lessons."_

_ "Then why do I go to the school?"_

_ "You need to learn some basic knowledge. But you're smart as it is already, so we can leave this village soon."_

_ "Good. I don't like it here." He did not elaborate. _

_ Katana turned back to vegetables she was slicing, humming quietly to herself. She listened to the scratch of her son's pencil as it trailed its way over the paper, and smiled ruefully. She wished more than anything that she could have been in a different place, that Hizoku was enrolled in the Ninja Academy and not some cobbled-together schoolhouse in a no-name village. _

_ "Mother?" She had barely noticed the stop of the scratch of the pencil. "What does… the word… 'bastard' mean?"_

_ Katana gave a sharp gasp and startled cry._

_ Hizoku looked up in alarm. "Mother?!"_

_ She dropped her knife and whirled around, staring at him with wide eyes. She was clutching the fingers of her left hand, blood seeping down her wrist. "W-Where d-did you hear th-that word?" _

_ "M-Moth—?"_

_ "Tell. Me."_

_ Hizoku stared fearfully at his mother, the cold tone of her voice sending a chill up his spine. Her eyes were wide, their piercing brown boring deeply into him, willing an answer to be spoken forth. But she seemed fearful or… angered. "One of the boys at school called me that."_

_ Katana gave a shuddering breath and turned back to the counter, slamming her hands down on the surface in ire. Hizoku recoiled and rose from his chair, backing away slowly. Katana healed her gashed fingers and buried her face into her hands, elbows on the counter. She took several trembling breaths and shook her head. She slowly turned back around to him and extended her hand. _

_ "Come here, 'Zoku. It's okay." _

_ Hizoku slowly stepped up to her and took her hand, still tense and wary. She knelt before him as she had earlier in the day, and took his face between her hands._

_ "Listen to me carefully. There's a saying that goes 'sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me'. I want you to remember that. Never ever listen to anything that anyone calls you, okay? No matter what kind of names they call you, no matter how much it hurts, remember that it means nothing. People call each other names because they don't have the courage to stand up and fight for themselves and because they are jealous and insecure about their own lives. You're so much better than all of the people here. Okay, 'Zoku?"_

_ "Okay."_

_Tears began to slowly well in her eyes. "You're not a demon, you're not a monster, and you're defiantly not insignificant. You're destined for so much more than any of these people here. You have powers that no one else here can fathom. Your eyes are not evil as so many people here believe. Your eyes are…" She paused and bowed her head, drawing in a shuddering breath. "Just don't let anyone get into your head, okay? Always remember that these people will never understand." _

_ "Okay."_

_ Katana pressed her lips to her son's forehead and embraced him tightly. "A bastard is a child born when the mother and father aren't married. It's a bad word to call someone."_

_ "But… I am a bastard then, aren't I?"_

_ "No, Hizoku. Never say that. You're not a bastard. You never will be." Her hold on him tightened, pressing his thin body against hers. It was a habit she had acquired, an action to protect him when swords and jutsu would have no effect. _

_ "But… my father—"_

_ "Do me a favor and go out to the garden and look for anything else that we can eat tonight." Katana released him and kissed his forehead again. Ushering him towards the door, she let it close behind him before she sunk to the floor. She struggled to contain her sobs, desperately wanting to avoid alarming her son. She clutched her right palm, rubbing the burn scar that spanned the surface_. If only things were different. If only fate wasn't so cruel. If only I could be with you again, Neji. If only the world was more understanding… If only…

* * *

"I have so much to tell you, but where do I begin?"

Katana smirked and let her tears fall into Neji's hair. "It's the same with me."

They had embraced in silence for what seemed like eons, simply holding each other close to span the miles that they had been apart for so many years. She let her tears trail down her face, his strong arms giving her a security that she could have only dreamt and wished for. But she was not despaired. No, this time her tears were of joy. Joy that had eluded her for so long that she had come to believe that it had vanished for eternity.

Neji loosened his embrace to gaze at her, locking her eyes and studying her features.

"In ways you've changed, but," Neji ran a hand down her cheek, "you're still the same as before. And you're real. You really are alive, Katana."

Katana smirked through her tears. "You've hardly changed as well." She leaned against his chest and pressed her ear over his heart, listening to the strong, steady rhythm of his life beat. "Who would have thought?"

But Neji could see the change in her. She had aged far more than he had: there seemed to be permanent lines under her weary eyes, and she seemed heavy in his arms. It was the aura of a woman that had shouldered the pain of the world for too long that added years to her life. But that weight had lessened considerable with every passing moment that they held each other.

"Why did you leave, Katana? Why did you make me believe that you were dead? If you were alive all this time, then… You could have come back. Why didn't you?"

"It's best if…you didn't know."

Katana met his gaze and her eyes widened. His eyes showed his pain, the suffering that he had endured in her absence, the agony of ignorance. As she stepped back to arms length from him, she felt sick to her stomach, sick that she had caused him pain that could have been avoided, sick that her constant running and hiding had been the worse of two evils. She closed her eyes and fell against his chest again, burying her face into his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, struggling to contain her tears. "Neji, I'm so sorry. I don't know what—"

"Don't cry, Katana."

She clutched the back of his shirt and looked up to his eyes, sniffing. He met her lips with his own and she fell into the kiss, feeling his muscular arms keep her on her feet. Neji could taste the salty tang of her tears, tears that had been so familiar so long ago, tears that he had dried on countless occasions. He supported her back before she collapsed but the movement was also to prove to himself that she was actually palpable, knowing that the moment was as unreal for her as it was for him. Her arms encircled his neck, his body strong and warm against hers. Their kiss was chaste, a gesture to tell each other that they were actually together, assuring the other that the darkness of the past was fading with a new light. It was a kiss to restore the bond that had been viciously severed.

They parted slowly and Katana rested her head against his chest, once again finding his heartbeat. "I missed you. Every day I wished that I could go back. Every day I wished for a better life. Every day I wished that I had chosen a different path."

"The past is over, Katana. What has happened cannot be changed. But it's over now. It's all over."

Katana languidly stepped away from him and extended her hand. "I really shouldn't show you. I should continue keeping the secret that I have been for the past fifteen years. But that's not fair to either of you. Come on. I need you to meet someone."

Neji took her hand and they slowly made their way up the slope, climbing over rocks and underbrush. Their fingers remained interlocked tightly, a silent vow between spirits to never part for reasons in their power of influencing. Katana led him to the small clearing ringed by charred trees and stepped over to one of the untouched oaks. She glanced back at Neji and released his hand, letting her fingers slide against his as they parted, and she knelt beside the blindfolded teen that was still unconscious at the roots.

Katana brushed a few loose strands of his dark hair out of his face with a sigh. "He's grown so much. I don't think that I can carry him anymore." She lifted his head and removed the blindfold from his eyes and tucked the strip of material into her pocket, but his eyes remained closed.

Neji could feel his chest tighten. "That boy… He… who is he?"

Katana somberly sat beside the motionless youth and rested his head in her lap, stroking the side of his face. "He's the reason that I couldn't come back, Neji." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "A little over fifteen years ago, I was told I had to go on a suicide mission. I told you about this and we spent the night together and… well…" She gave him a knowing look. "You know the rest. After my mission was complete, my clan captured me. This you know. You came to rescue me and you would have succeeded."

"But I was a fool." Neji clenched his hands into fists. "I recoiled when I could have saved you."

"It's far better that you didn't save me." Katana smoothed the bangs on the left side of her face back behind her ear. "When the explosion hit, I used that barrier ninjutsu. I protected myself from the flames. I would have died if I hadn't. You were hit though, and I found you once the flames died down and I healed the worst of your wounds. Prior to this, I had used your chakra. And I'll admit that I took more than I should have. Both of us would have died if I had only took the amount that was necessary for the jutsu I was performing."

"That shape…" Neji stared at her with wide eyes. "I will never forget that night… I saw a shape standing over me before I fell unconscious… That was you…"

"Yeah… I couldn't let you die, could I?" Katana gave a forced, laugh that quickly faded. "But then I ran. I had to. I summoned a dragon to go to you to break all hope that I was alive. I had to leave for my reason. The reason was not because of what I knew. The reason was because of what I didn't know." She looked back down at the boy. "I knew that I was pregnant with him… but I didn't know who his father was. Was he a pureblood Suterusu? Or… was he of split descent?" Katana closed her eyes and a tear slid down her cheek.

"That boy is your son." It was a statement, not a question. Neji was certain of such. "But with his abilities… When I fought him…"

"You saved our lives, Neji. Mine… and his. If it weren't for you, the Suterusu clan would have succeeded in its goal. But they didn't because of you. This boy is my son, Neji. And you're his father."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

He heard his name being called distantly, almost like a whisper being carried away on a wind. There was a pressure on his shoulder, a pressure that rocked him back and forth. Someone was trying to wake him up. Urgently.

Hizoku pried his eyes open as quickly as he could and blinked at the light that entered his eyes, lifting his heavy hand to block the sudden glare. The feeling and control quickly returned to his limbs as he pulled further and further into consciousness, his awareness of the world around him growing. He was in his room in the stone lodge on the ridge, in his bed, sitting on top of his blankets. His mother sat at his side, her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey there," she said quietly, a smirk on her face. But the expression made an uneasy feeling settle in his stomach. The smirk was not rueful or sorrowful as almost all others had been. This smirk had true happiness lying beneath the surface.

"Mother? What's going on?" Hizoku sat up properly and tensed. There was another chakra presence in the immediate area. She kept her hand firmly on his shoulder.

"You know how I always said that I would tell you everything you wanted to know when the time was right?" Her smirk grew at his confused yet shocked expression. "That time is now, Hizoku. Come with me. I want you to meet someone." She extended her had to him, giving the option of joining her. She had always offered her hand, allowing him to have the choice of whether to follow her or go his own way. He had yet to ever leave her hand unclasped.

She led him out of his room and out of the lodge, weaving her way through the trees that soon parted to form the ridge. Hizoku saw the tall man standing with his back turned, his long hair trailing to fall just above the small of his back. Hizoku's two-colored eyes widened as he recognized the man's chakra. Hizoku dug his heels into the ground and let his hand slid from his mothers, allowing her to step forward. The man turned around and the two locked eyes for the first time.

"It's you. The man from before. The one I couldn't beat… The one with my eyes…"

"Well, 'eye' is more accurate, 'Zoku. Your left eye is mine, you know." Katana rested her hand on her son's shoulder. "But you're wrong with your right eye as well. Neji doesn't have your eyes. You have his." She met her son's horrified expression, his breathing suddenly becoming strained. He took several staggering steps backwards, turning his gaze to Neji with wide eyes.

"No way… He can't be… He's not…" Hizoku looked back to Katana. "Mother…"

"Hizoku, this is the man you have asked me so many questions about all of these years. This is whom you have wanted answers about. This is whom I could never speak about. This is Neji Hyuuga. This is your father."

Hizoku was speechless. He stared at Neji, stared at the man who had appeared from nowhere. They had fought, and the similarities were unmistakable. But the teen's stomach bunched in a tight coil, his face beginning to grow warm.

"My father…" The words were whispered, alien on his tongue. "My father…?" He could feel his face grow hotter, his chest beginning to tighten. With rage. "MY FATHER?!"

There was a lunge, a flash of movement, a roar of fury, a cry of shock, a slap of skin to skin.

Hizoku's blade was inches from Neji's heart, the tip hovering centimeters from his shirt. He was breathing heavily, the air hissing through his gritted teeth. Katana held him back by his sword arm and shoulder, her body trembling with the effort to keep him in place.

"You have every right to be angry," Katana hissed in a strained voice, all of her weight being used to hold the teen at bay. "But don't take your anger out on Neji. He has done nothing to deserve it. If you're going to attack someone, attack me. This is all my fault."

Hizoku pulled back and stepped away, breathing heavily. "This isn't what I wanted. You said that he was dead!" His rage-filled eyes switched from Neji to Katana as if he was unsure who to turn his blade to. His blade or the blame.

"No, Hizoku. I never said that. I told you that he was worlds away. And that was the truth. We _were_ in different worlds, but all things can change."

"NO!" Hizoku threw his sword to the ground and glared accusingly at Neji. "You. Who do you think you are? You think that you can just come into our lives after fifteen years of being gone? You think that will get my respect? Well, you're wrong!"

"Hizoku—" Katana outstretched her hand to touch his shoulder.

"Stay away from me! Both of you!" He recoiled and stumbled into a tree, pressing his back into the rough bark. He stared at Neji, the right side of his face slowly rising with veins. "You never should have come here. You should have stayed away! Monster!" He spun around and fled into the forest, running away from uncertainty, running away from shock.

Katana sunk to her knees and buried her face into her hands. "What have I done? I don't understand!" She looked up to where her son had disappeared through the trees. "All he ever wanted was to meet his father. All he ever wanted was answers. Why…? I thought he would be happy… I thought…"

"Try to understand what he feels, Katana." Neji knelt next to her and rested his hand on her back. "I doubt that I would act any different. He has your mannerisms, but I can see myself in him already. He's questioning. He wants answers. He's incredulous and isn't ready for so much shock. I was the same way when I learned the truth about my father. I did not believe my uncle when he told me that my father had willingly given up his life for my clan, but I accept it now. Hizoku… just give him time." Neji suddenly smirked. "It's a fitting name, by the way."

Katana met his gaze and allowed a smirk to cross her face. "You really think so?"

Neji nodded and held out his hand for her to take. "It suits him."

"You have no idea. He's always been my rebel, but not in the normal ways that you might think. On more than one occasion, I've almost called him by your name. He's so much like you at times." Katana sighed and took Neji's hand, allowing him to assist her to her feet. "Just give him a few hours. He'll be home by nightfall."

"How can you be so sure?"

Katana gave a laugh, a true, light-hearted chuckle. "He'll need to eat sometime between now and tomorrow. And nothing gets between a man and his stomach."

-:-:-:-:-:-

"So you've lived out in this wilderness since you left?"

"Yeah. I've been nomadic at times when I need to escape from certain… situations. But I always come back here. The villages are horrible, so I mostly keep to myself."

"They actually think that you use witchcraft, don't they? It's imbecilic."

"You're telling me. And Hizoku has suffered the worst of the mistrust. Ever since he first activated his Byakugan… everyone thinks that he's a demon. And I've done everything I can to make sure that he doesn't believe it himself."

"You need to come back to Konoha, Katana."

She stood up abruptly and took a step back. "I can't do that, Neji. I've been gone for such a long time… How could I face everyone? What am I supposed to do? And your clan… What will they say when I come back with a child that shares half of your blood? Hizoku is safe out here. So am I. Going back to the Village would mean—"

"That I would have to leave you again."

Katana blinked and stared at him, seeing his hands curl into fists. "Neji… I…"

"I can't lose you again. I've lost you once, and I've lost someone else important to me. I can't go through it again…" Neji closed his eyes and passed a hand over his face. "After I thought that you were dead, I took your dragon's advice. I went to the only other person that I could go to, the only other person who would accept me."

"Tenten."

Neji's face became grave. "Yes. There was nothing else that I could do. Without you… I never thought that I would be affected with a death the way I was affected by yours. You have to understand the situation I was in."

"I understand." Katana moved her head to the right, allowing her hair to fall over the left side of her face. "If it wasn't for Hizoku, I would most likely have killed myself. I won't deny it. But… you said that you lost someone else…"

Neji nodded slowly, eyes falling to the table he sat at. "Tenten and I… became involved in one another. We formed a relationship. I tried to make myself believe that I wasn't just using her as a substitute for you, but… I never forgot you. That's all I can say. I did love her, though. She never judged me. And she was always there for me."

"I understand." Katana would not meet his gaze.

"And after some time… Tenten made the ultimate sacrifice for me… She gave me a daughter, but her own life was taken as a result."

"What?!" Katana's head snapped to Neji's direction, eyes wide with shock as her mouth hung open slightly. "You have… another child?"

Neji looked pained. "Yes. But… I have not been the best parent to her. She hates me. I know it. And I have no idea how to mend our relationship." Neji rested his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes. "She's just like I was: I angered at the clan, I was angered at my parents for not being there, and I wanted to just break away from everything to chart my own course to greatness. She is identical. I can only hope that she won't leave the Village… She would jump at the chance. I have no doubt. She's already spoken of it before, and…"

He heard her barely audible footsteps approach him and felt her arms encircle him. Neji leaned his head against Katana's chest, feeling her run her fingers through his hair.

"It's almost as if you've never been away," Neji murmured. "The moment I saw you, the moment our eyes met… It was just like before."

"Me too. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

"Yes. Yes it does." Neji looked up and stared into her tired eyes, eyes that were at ease for the first time in a time that he could only guess at. "Please return with me, Katana. You need me as much as I need you. You can't deny that."

She smirked lightly. "You're right. I can't deny it in the least. And I don't think that there is anyway that I could stay here now. No matter what dangers I may be faced with, as long as you're with me now, everything will be okay. So—" She suddenly paused and rolled her eyes. "Don't even think about it, Hizoku."

There was a growl of annoyance and the teen materialized in the open doorway, deactivating his kekkei genkai. He was holding a shuriken between each of the fingers of his left hand. "Get away from him." His voice was curt and demanding. "And you." He pointed his shuriken-lined hand towards Neji. "Stay away from my mother." He took a threatening step forward, resting his hand on his sword.

"Who died and made you the one to issue orders?" Katana said sarcastically over her shoulder. She glanced back to him, her arms still wrapped around Neji. "I'm glad that you've cooled down. You're hungry, aren't you?"

"Get away from him." Hizoku loosened his sword from his scabbard, his eyes narrowing. He utterly ignored her question. "I said get away!" He lunged forward, sword unsheathed.

Katana spun around and caught her son's blade with her hands, the sharp edge averted from Neji's direction. She rolled her wrists and sharply tugged in an upward direction, disarming the teen swiftly.

"When will you ever learn that you can't win against me in a sword fight. I've taught you everything you know, but I haven't taught you everything I know." She extended the sword back to Hizoku, hilt-first. "Take this too." Katana pulled a long strip of black cloth from her pocket; Hizoku's blindfold. "And show your parents more respect."

He snatched the weapon and blindfold back, his face burning with a scarlet tinge of anger and embarrassment. "He's not my father." Hizoku turned and walked back out the door, throwing one last loathsome glare behind him. He sat outside, to the left of the doorway and listened to the two adults inside, his heart beating rapidly. He wanted to throw something, break something, hear something shatter. But he sat idle, struggling to control his breathing.

But something made him uneasy. He activated his one Byakugan eye and looked back into the lodge at the adults that had begun talking quietly again. He saw their chakra systems, saw the calm, steady flow of a passive state. It scared him. His mother's chakra was never so placid.

Even at rest, when she was alone with him or just sitting pensively, her chakra was always agitated. She was always tense, ready for the unknown to make itself visible and attack from all sides. Even when she slept, she was ready to burst into awareness and fend off the attacking foe.

But now she was calm, at utter peace. With her arms around the man she called his father, with their words being exchanged, with their auras close together, she had achieved a solace Hizoku could have never believed was possibly for her. She was truly happy, truly passive, truly tranquil. And even though the fire in his heart still burned livid, his anger wavered slightly.

"But why does he wear a blindfold? Only one of his eye is mine, so wouldn't an eye patch suit him better?"

Hizoku listened to the conversation they were having, hearing his mother respond in a voice that he had never heard before. It possessed an underlying amusement, a tremor of joy; such a thing had never been present in Katana's voice for as long as he had been alive.

"An eye patch? Neji, he _can't _wear an eye patch. He's a _ninja_." She truly laughed for the first time he had ever heard. It wasn't one of her quickly-ending or that-was-slightly-humorous laughs. It was real. And it made Hizoku's heart ache.

_That guy… She really has something for him. She's never acted this way before. She's relaxed. She's _never_ relaxed… What is it about him that makes her let go of all worry? Neji Hyuuga… just who are you?_

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The night was long.

Hizoku had fought viciously to keep Neji outside, not allowing him close to his mother. If he was going to stay, he would sleep outside. Katana had grown irritable, trying to reason with her son, but he was unrelenting. He still did not trust Neji, he still was far from ready to allow the man to be under the same roof as him. But he barely slept through the night, the presence of the man just outside causing his chest to burn with anger. And he knew that he was powerless if he had wanted to drive the man away. That made everything all the more difficult.

And he decided not to tell his mother that he knew that she had not remained in the lodge. In the middle of the night, he had sensed her presence slip out of her room and venture outside to be with the man. They had simply sat under a nearby tree, talking until she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. It had made Hizoku want to run outside and run the man through with his blade. But using a sword while his mother was around would be ineffective. And he felt helpless, even more so than when he had been a child. And his rage did not stop rising.

The morning came and Hizoku remained in his room, dragging a whetstone over his sword, honing the blade carefully and letting the screech carry through the air. He kept his eye on the pair outside, but they were simply talking again. But every word that passed between them and every laugh or genuine smirk his mother gave made him shift uncomfortably. Never in his life had Hizoku been able to evoke such a reaction from her.

The sun was high in the sky when she left the man's side and entered the lodge, her bare feet making no sound over the ground. She knocked on his door and slipped inside, watching her son as he sheathed his newly sharpened sword and placed it on the floor.

"Pack your things, 'Zoku."

He looked to his mother, raising an eyebrow. She was smirking, not looking around wildly with fearful eyes. Her tone was calm, not wavering and frantic. They were not going to run; this trip was not going to be one of life or death.

"What am I going to need?" Hizoku lowered to the ground and pulled his rucksack from under his bed.

"Anything that you can't live without. We're not coming back."

"What?!" Hizoku jumped to his feet and stared at his mother, his jaw hanging open in shock. "We're leaving this place? W-why? Where are we going?"

"We're going home, 'Zoku. We're going to Konohagakure."

"But… When are we leaving?"

"As soon as you're ready." Katana walked from the room lightly, her aura filled with a happiness he had never seen before.

Hizoku left his rucksack empty and ran out of his room. He activated his eye and searched for his target, finding it outside by the ridge. He ran passed his mother, ignoring her inquiry, and ran out into the trees. He stopped once he reached the tree line, staring at the man he was supposed to call father.

"You!" Hizoku narrowed his eyes as Neji turned around. "You think that you can just come into my life and change everything? You think that you can take away everything that I've known? Who are you to take us away from our life? Why are you assuming that we want to go back to Konoha?" He regretted that he had left his sword in his room, but his shuriken holster was still strapped to his leg.

"Your mother seems to believe that it is for the better," Neji replied calmly. "You will be given proper guidance. From our fight, I see that you have potential, but your skills need to be properly honed. You could become a formidable shinobi with the proper training."

"Shinobi? Who ever said I wanted to be a shinobi? I like my life here! Why do you have the right to change that?" Hizoku reached for a shuriken.

"There is nothing for us here."

Hizoku whirled around to face his mother, startled that he had not heard her approaching. "What do you mean?"

Katana stepped passed him to stand by Neji, looking back at her son with a smirk. "For years I've wanted to return, but I couldn't find the reason or courage to do so. Now I have both. I'm sick of running. I'm sick of remembering the darkness of my past and facing all of this alone. It's easier to run from our fears, but it takes a true person to stand up to them. I wish that I could change and retrace every wrong move that I made. But I can't linger in the past anymore. We shall go back to Konoha, Hizoku. And we're going to finally move forward."

"You think that this will solve all of our problems?" Hizoku's voice was quiet. He had never heard his mother talk about something so passionately.

"Yes, Hizoku. Yes I do." Katana looked to Neji and they exchanged nods. And as Hizoku watched them, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was fear. Fear that, in the near future, the man he was supposed to call father would take his place as the most important person to his mother. He felt sick, sick that this man would take him away from her. And nothing, not even death, scared him more. And he was determined to never let it happen.

* * *

Author Note: Heeeeeey. So, new chapt and I don't have too much to say. I started my KH fic, so if you like Kingdom Hearts, my writing, and don't mind OCs, go check it out :) it would make me veeeeeeeeery happy =D I may switch between the two stories, so updates may be spread out a little. So, on the topic of this story. I'm experimenting with 'Zoku's emotions (nicknames ha 8D) so I'm working on what what will suit him best. And Neji and Katana... I'm doing what I can. I'm going to let his develop, my stories tend to do that on their own, so bare with me to see what happens. For my standards, the story is moving fast, no? So, anyway, R&R for R&R! (wow... that was corny '-_-) So, yeah. Love you all, readers and reviewers! I only own my OCs cause my imagination has no bounds. Peace out.

-cagedbird361


	4. Chapter 4: Dear Father

Chapter 4: Dear Father

_Katana is 27; Hizoku is 9_

_ "Come on! I know you can do better than that!"_

_ He was gasping for breath, sweat coursing down his trembling limbs. He took an unstable step back, wincing as every muscle in his body twinged. Rolling his shoulder slowly, his tightened his loosening grip on his sword as he rapidly blinked sweat out of his eyes. And her glare just came into better focus._

_ She strode around him in a wide arc the way a dominant animal circles a challenger, the point of her sword digging a steady rut into the ground at her side. Her own chest was rising and falling with labored breathing, but a harsh resilience emanated from her with enough force to gouge deeply into the strongest of hearts. It was one of the few weapons that she always possessed no matter who she fought. It was one of the weapons that had kept her alive through events that would have obliterated anyone else._

_ "I-I don't th-think that—"_

_ "If you're my son, then you will fight!" She sprang, her sword inches from his nose within a second. He flinched and stumbled back, giving a cry of alarm as the wind whistled with the movement of the sword too close for comfort to his face. He sunk to the ground and threw his arms in front of his face, shielding himself from the blow that his mother was preparing to deal. But only her heavy breathing sounded through the air as he crouched cravenly on the ground._

_ "What are you doing?" Her voice was tight, spoken through gritted teeth. And it was darkly colored with rage._

_ "I-I don't want to fight anymore!" He cried desperately, feeling tears begin to collect at the corners of his eyes. "I don't want to do this!" He threw his sword away._

_ "You realize that you're dead, don't you? If this was a true battle, your life would have been ended!" Her voice had risen as she threw her sword to the ground in frustration with a harsh clatter._

_ "I don't care! I don't want to fight! I don't want to have to learn this! I don't want to die!" He choked on his words and curled into a ball on the grass, covering his face in shame. Hot tears were spilling from his eyes. "I'm tired of always running. I'm tired of having to learn to fight because someone I don't even know wants to kill me! Why me, Mother? Why?" He dissolved into tears, clutching at the grass and burying his face into his sleeve. _

_ Katana was silent. Her anger faded away rapidly and her eyes widened slowly. She stepped up to her son and knelt on the ground next to him, resting her hand on his back. "You live this life because of my mistakes. That's the only reason. And you have to fight or you will die. There is nothing that you can do to avoid it. They're going to come after you. And they'll keep coming after you until one side has been killed."_

_ Hizoku lifted his head and stared at her, eyes wide with an incredulous expression. "You're mistakes? So this is your fault? It's your fault that those creatures attack us? It's because of you that we can't be normal and have a normal life?"_

_ Katana turned her head to the right, allowing her hair to cover her scar. "Yeah. It's my fault. But I can't do anything to change it." _

_ Hizoku sat bolt upright and scrambled to his feet, fumbling for the sword he had thrown into the grass prior. He held it towards his mother, veins beginning to rise next to his right eye. "How could you do this to me! If you knew that we would live like this, then why did you make those mistakes? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" His voice cracked and he hastily wiped his tearing eyes against his sleeve, knowing his façade of strength was far from convincing. _

_ Katana could see the anger in his eyes, the ire-driven pain that had burdened him for every day of his young life. He lunged forward with his sword, striking with an exaggerated swing. Katana blocked his blade with her own, and she could tell from the force of the blow and the fire in his eyes, that this was a battle he could never possibly win. _

_ She twisted her wrist and disarmed him before he truly realized it, and swept his legs out from under him. He fell bodily onto his back and stared up dazed, not truly understanding what had happened so quickly. He met Katana's eyes as she stood over him, his face once again attaining a flushed hue of anger. He awkwardly got to his feet, his ears still ringing from hitting the ground. He held up his sword, but Katana let hers drop to the ground._

_ "Don't bother. You can't fight in this condition."_

_ "So now you're letting me go? You think I'm weak, don't you? You think I'm not good enough. I'M NOT WEAK!"_

_ He swung his sword, but Katana shifted her arm to catch the flat of the blade on her forearm and redirect its path. Side left wide open, Hizoku followed the direction this mother had sent him in, avoiding her punch, and turned back to face her. He moved to attack before he thought that she was ready, but her defenses were impenetrable. She caught his blade effortlessly and tipped him off balance, grabbing his sword arm and twisting it behind his back. She forced him to his knees, grapple hold preventing any retaliation._

_ "I'm actually glad that you did this."_

_ "LET GO OF ME SO WE CAN FIGHT!"_

_ "No. You need to calm down." _

_ "I NEED TO FIGHT!"_

_ She released her hold on him and he whirled around, his next swing caught on her arm._

_ "The first one to get angry always loses the fight," she murmured as she caught his wrist at the next palm thrust._

_ "You get angry in fights! You don't lose! You're LYING!" He twisted his arm to free himself and made another swipe with his sword. It was easily caught._

_ "You're not like me. The only two people who can survived a fight while infuriated are berserkers and my type."_

_ "Then what's your type?" He made a wild stab for her, but her evasion was effortless._

_ "They are the people who know what they're fighting for… and the ones who have something to protect."_

_ "How does that change anything? I know what I'm fighting for!" He threw his sword aside and dove at her, hands extended for her neck. She caught his wrists and knocked his legs out from under him, twisting his arms behind his back before he even hit the ground._

_ "No you don't. You fight because I tell you. You fight to keep yourself alive. With anger, that reason isn't good enough."_

_ "And who are you to judge what reasons are good enough?" He writhed in her grasp, but as her words echoed in his head, he felt a pit form in his stomach. And he knew that she was right. _

_ "I've faced more opponents than you could ever imagine, Hizoku. And all of them had different ways of fighting. But they all only fought because someone gave them an order and they didn't want to be punished or die. And I killed every one of them. I'll admit that I lost a handful of battles, but that was because I hadn't been fully aware of my reason for surviving yet and my opponents were. But now, I'm indestructible. I know my reasons." She released her hold on his arms and assisted him to his feet. He refused to meet her gaze, silently sulking about his loss. _

_ Katana began to walk back through the trees to their lodge, sensing her son's presence several paces behind her as he followed. She reached the stone door and paused to glance back at him, seeing his mouth half open as he was about to speak._

_ "And what are my reasons?" A weary smirk crossed her face, barely brushing the sharpening bags that had been gradually forming under here eyes. Hizoku nodded, irked by the prediction of his words. "You're my reason. You and your father. You two are my reasons to survive."_

_ "My father…? But he's…"  
"I survive for you so that he will be proud of what you become. When you're a great shinobi… I just don't want to be a failure. And whenever you meet him… In this life for the next…" She averted her gaze to the ground. "I fight for hope for the future. That's basically it. Hope and protection." She returned her gaze to his white and brown eyes. "If you find something or someone to protect, you can become as strong as I am. But until then, keep your cool or you won't need anything to fight for. You'll be dead."

* * *

_

"Is something wrong?"

He refused to look at her. He did not want to look at her. Looking at her would mean looking in _his _direction.

"Come on, 'Zoku. This isn't like you. You're usually—"

"You named me 'Hizoku' so I want you to address me as such." He briskly shouldered his rucksack and began to walk. "Why are we taking so long to leave? You were so eager to get moving, but now we're taking so many breaks that we've barely made progress."

Katana gazed at his back as he walked up a tree to stand on one of the lower branches. _I don't understand what's going on here… Why is he acting like this?_

"We should start on our way again," Neji murmured into Katana's ear from where he stood behind her. "We have a large distance to cover to reach the Village."

"Yeah, I know… But something is bothering me…" Katana twirled the end of the long braid that was draped over her shoulder. "The air just doesn't feel right…"

"Come on! I thought you wanted to leave!" Hizoku glared down at them coldly, arms folded over his chest to display his irate attitude.

Katana slipped her rucksack over her shoulder and sprang up into the tree next to Hizoku. "Don't be so hasty. What have I told you about that?"

He sighed forcefully. " 'Analysis before action. Diving in head first without checking the depth means you'll split your head open on the rocks on the bottom'. But I'm not swimming, Mother." His voice was bitter and he leaped up onto another branch as Neji appeared beside them. He cast a loathing glance down before running off along the branch and into the trees.

"He's never acted like this before." Katana rubbed her eyes and shook her head slightly. "Not to me, at least."

"He's struggling. It's only natural that he is misbehaving because I'm here." Neji rested a hand on her shoulder. "I would talk with him if he would allow me."

Katana looked to the direction where her son had vanished and Neji felt a jolt run through his chest. Her gaze held a determinative edge, an edge that had been the most popular of her facial expressions when last in the Village. The same edge creased her brow when about to face one of those who opposed her, the same edge that meant she was about to act brashly. And Neji could not stop her before she bolted after her son with a speed learned from her time in the Anbu Black Ops.

Neji pursued her, activating his Byakugan and following the shadowy blur that snaked through the trees. Hizoku had become aware of her presence and was running faster, a certain panicked expression suddenly hinting at the corners of his eyes. He swiftly changed directions, diving to the ground and breaking into a full sprint, but Katana had caught him unaware and he was unable to compensate for the distance she had already gained on him.

Neji caught up with them as Katana wove a pattern of handseals and slammed her palms into the ground. Neji came to a halt at Hizoku's side as the earth began to rise on all sides and come to a close above them. His scalp prickled as he recognized the jutsu, having experienced it once before many years ago.  
"W-What the hell?" Hizoku cried running to a wall and pressing his palms against the hardened earth. "What's the meaning of this? Mother! What the hell are you doing?"

Only the very top of the dome remained open in a small circle. A beam of light penetrated the darkness of the dome, providing the only illumination. Hizoku ran to the center and stared up at the bright picture of sky, watching as a shadow fell over it and the light was blotted out.

"I'm sorry I had to resort to this, but you're being difficult." Katana stared down through the small opening, something akin to amusement on her face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hizoku shouted with wild eyes, his voice cracking slightly. "This isn't a resort! You didn't give me any other options! Let me out!"

"Only after you two have talked things over. I can't have you acting like this towards your father for the rest of your life, and this is the easiest way that I can think of to cure that. My clan used this method. Two partners who weren't working well together would be sealed in an airtight room and be forced to work together to escape. If they didn't, they would die. I, however, am not like my clan. I'm going to leave you an air vent."

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" Neji walked to the opening and Hizoku took several paces backwards with a reproachful glare. Neji disregarded the expression thrown his way and looked up at Katana.

"Of course I'm serious. And you two are going to find a way to get out of here yourselves."

"I've experienced this jutsu before, Katana," Neji said in a firm tone, a smirk playing at his lips. "I know how to escape."

"Be that as it may, I highly believe it will not be simplistic for only the two of you. Get to know each other's strengths and just…_talk_. And I don't want to find any corpses when I get back."

Katana pulled away from the opening and set her hands on either side of it, causing it to close until only a slivered beam of light fell into the darkness below. It would allow enough air to enter while still being secure.

_Well hasn't she developed a motherly sense of justice,_ Neji mused with repressed humor.

"NO! Mother! Don't do this! It's foolish! Mother!" Hizoku stood in the ray of light, staring up at the pinprick of blue among the darkness of the earth. "Damn it!"

"Yelling is not going to free us," Neji murmured, kneeling to the ground and feeling the soil.

Hizoku whirled around and glared at him, two-toned eyes flashing in the beam of light. "Then what's your idea? Since you claim you been trapped by this jutsu before, then do something! If you're not going to help me, then stay out of my way. That's what you're good at, after all. Just don't barge in after I've got everything figured out. You're good at that, too."

Neji glanced up from the soil, meeting Hizoku's harsh glare. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't even realize it, do you? You think you can just appear after fifteen years and change all that I've known? You should have never bothered to find us!" Hizoku's hand was gravitating gradually towards the sword at his side.

"Your mother never told you anything, did she?"

"What does it matter? Sure, she never told me anything, and sure, it bothers me, but that's not the point. All that I care about right now is getting out of here. I… don't like enclosed spaces…" Hizoku looked away, his previous words holding an uneasy tone of insecurity.

"We need to repeatedly attack the walls until they give. That was the method used last I was in this predicament. Although, the jutsu at our disposal is considerably limited as opposed to the other time."

"Great. So how does that help us?" Hizoku returned the information with a cold stare. "Care to contribute anything else?" The teen folded his arms over his chest, his irritation blatant.

Neji could only smirk at the expression. "Your mother often gave me that look when we first met. She hated me too at that time. But after getting to know me—"

"If you're attempting to make small talk, I don't want to hear it. Save the stories. I'd rather get out of here." Hizoku strode to the wall of the dome and walked up the side with chakra at his feet. He arrived at the opening and crouched against the ceiling, examining the edges intently.

"You will not escape that way," Neji murmured. "Your mother would not be as careless as to make it that obvious."

"Would you stop talking about my mother like that? You act as if you've known her for her whole life." Hizoku looked down at him, gravity weighing down his hair and clothes. "And if she didn't lie to me, you two knew each other for less than a year."

The humored smirk faded from Neji's lips and his expression darkened. "It may have only been for that brief a time, but what occurred in those months was more than enough for us to form a relationship."

"Oh, really? Of course you would say that." Hizoku looked back to the opening, running his fingers around the rim. It was saturated with chakra and would not break with normal force. "I'm used to the lies."

"Then do you want the truth?"

"As if you would tell me the _truth_."

"I have nothing to hide."

Hizoku looked back down and stood straight, remaining upside down. He had the slight resemblance of a bat in the darkness paired with this black clothing. "Then where have you been after all of these years? If you had nothing to hide, then why didn't you come and change everything sooner?" His words were as challenging as his glare.

"For the past fifteen years, I believed that your mother was dead. I saw her die… or rather I witnessed her staged death."

"Then why did she leave? Why did she 'stage her death'?"

Neji was silent for a moment. "From what she has told me and what I can inference, she left to keep you safe."

"Yeah, so I've been told." Hizoku turned his gaze downward, or rather towards the ceiling in his inverted position. "The stories add up, but you could have agreed to tell me that story as a cover. I can't be entirely certain that it's the truth."

"What are you aiming to find exactly? You have no reason to despise me as you do."

"I HAVE EVERY REASON!"

The sudden exclamation caused Neji to take a wary step back.

"You just came back out of no where and instantly my mother wants her old life again! I've known nothing else besides this world of fear and flight. But it's my life. I don't want it to change! And you just say a word and my mother becomes your little puppet! That's not her way! No one controls her! And no one controls me!" Hizoku severed the chakra flow to his feet and flipped to the ground, landing solidly on his feet. "I've fought this long to keep my free will. And I'm not about to lose it!"

His sword was drawn and Byakugan eye activated, springing forward in the darkness with a glint of steel. Neji leaped back, his own Byakugan activated, and he drew a kunai from his leg holster. He parried the string of slashes and swings aimed at his vital areas, easily blocking the sharp edge of the blade. He was familiar with the pattern, having previously fought Hizoku who had learned from Katana. And his memory did not fail him in recalling the combinations she had frequently used against him in their sparring sessions.

But Hizoku was quick to pause his ruthless offense.

He stepped back and lowered his sword to his side, inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly. He closed his eyes and raised his sword, directing the tip as the threat.

Neji's eyes widened as he watched the teen's chakra flow. As if he had gone through an invisible metamorphosis, the ferocious rate at which his chakra had been moving instantly screeched to a halt. It slid passively through his veins as if he were at rest. Neji could not deny his surprise; he would never have believed such a brash child possessed such precise chakra control.

"I know what I'm fighting for," Hizoku murmured. His eyes flashed open and a cold smile spread across his face. "And I will not lose it."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"So what do you think, Joukei-tatsu? Are they going to get along?"

"No." The dragon's response was far too quick and firm for any other option to glimmer in existence. "They're fighting like dogs in there. Well, at least your son is. Neji-san is simply trying not to get skewered without hurting the boy. He could easily stop 'Zoku-chan, but I doubt he will agree to go down quietly and still conscious. Your son has inherited your nature in fighting."

Katana rubbed her eyes with a sigh. "That's what worries me. So there's no hope for them?"

"Until you place your son in a straight jacket and tranquilize him, he's not going to accept Neji-san. He's even taken the time to calm himself. He's strategy-fighting and you know better than I do that he only does that when he's serious about winning."

"Shit."

"This was not one of your better ideas. Didn't you tell me that Hizoku was claustrophobic? Or is that only in _extremely_ tight spaces?"

"I summoned you to use your sight abilities to keep track of them, not stare into my past and tell me what I've done wrong." She ignored the comment on her son's fears. "I think I should activate the chakra draining quality of this jutsu. If I drain them enough, they'll have to be sensible and not waste energy on fighting."

"Smart. Unless 'Zoku-chan has other ideas in mind. He seems very set on gutting Neji-san alive." The dragon's large eyes, disproportional to the size of its head, pulsed with a vivid blue energy, gazing between the very atoms of the earthen dome to witness the events unfolding. "And, knowing him, he'll pass out from exhausting his chakra stores before he assists an enemy."

"Neji isn't his enemy."

"Then you and your son are not throwing shuriken at the same target."

"When do we ever?"

"When you're running for your lives."

Katana bowed her head, twirling the end of her braid between her fingers. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. All he ever wanted was to meet Neji, and now—"

"All he ever wanted was answers, Katana. You never tell him anything."

"I couldn't! I had to protect him!"

"Well, the cat's out of the bag now. You've reunited with Neji-san, so he deserves to know everything. Maybe then he will lose some of the ire he so closely holds."

There was a faint explosion from within the dome and the dragon's eyes widened.

"Yikes. Fuuton and Katon don't mix it seems. With a Kuusho and Gokakyu no Jutsu, they almost blew out a wall."

"If they could learn to work together, they would have figured that out by now."

"Katana, you threw a cobra and a mongoose into the same cage. One is bound to attack the other. It's not that they don't want to work together; they _can't_ work together. At least, 'Zoku-chan can't. He never did play nice with others."

"Now isn't the time for jokes, Joukei-tatsu. I hate to say it, but you have a point…" Katana gazed sadly at the dome containing the two people she loved the most. "I've protected Hizoku for too long. He does deserve the truth. But now I don't even think that he'll want to hear it. I don't know if he'll even believe me."

A second explosion shook the dome and a large crack spit into the side.

"Well make your decision fast. And I'm going to make myself scarce. Good luck."

Katana sighed and dismissed the dragon as the side of the dome burst open, showering her with soil and bits of rocks. She pressed her hands to the ground and the areas of the dome that were left standing crumbled and receded into the earth. Neji and Hizoku were amid the rubble, Hizoku appearing far worse for ware than is father. Katana saw a spark in Hizoku's eye and she made her move, appearing between them and catching their weapons on her guarded forearms.

"Congratulations. You made it out. Not in the way I imagined, but…" Katana twisted the sword from Hizoku's grasp and he was too tired to care or fight back. "I'm going to take a different approach at things because this is not working." She turned her attention to Hizoku and gave him a firm push backwards. He sunk down onto a rock that had been apart of the dome. "I'm going to tell you everything want to know. No more secrets."

"W-what?" Hizoku blinked sweat out of his eyes and wiped it off of his brow, staring up at his mother in confusion. "S-so suddenly?"

"Yeah. Blame my erratic behavior. Don't worry, you have it, too."

"Katana…?"

"You're contributing to the story as well, Neji. Unless you want our son to try and kill you every waking moment, you're going to need to back me up."

"Mother… I don't understand. Why—?"

"Don't ask anymore questions. You've been doing that your whole life. And I'm going to answer as many as I can. So sit down, shut up, and be happy that I've decided to do this."

"Katana, is this really wise?"

She looked to Neji and took his hand, lacing her fingers between his own. "It's a long overdue event. I'm glad we can explain this together. Now where to begin…"

"Aren't you rushing this a little?"

Katana glanced from Neji to Hizoku, from passive to confused, from experienced to naïve. "I'm just trying to get through this before I realize that this might be a bad idea and change my mind."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"So, what shall we do now? We've finally found her and she's about to escape. We don't want all of our efforts to go to waste, now do we?"

She met his mud brown eyes with her own, a sadistic smile curling her lips upward. He turned his gaze away, snorting with irritation.

"Why don't you make the plans, Kuraisaido? You're the one who has a chance of becoming whole. My mold has already been killed off so I have nothing to fight for."

"Don't be so down-trodden, Mokushi. You might find a body or spirit that catches your interest." She nudged his shoulder in a false attempt to lift his spirits.

"But I cannot harbor or possess any other spirit or body to full completion. We were made to overtake one specific person, and my person has died." He interlaced his fingers and pressed them to his mouth, sulking thoughtfully.

"Fine, submit to events. It's not like I care. I _can_ get my person. And you're going to help me because that's what siblings do." She poked him in the shoulder with an impish smile, her eyes wide and only the corners of her mouth upturned.

"We're not even real siblings," he muttered without looking towards her.

"Why are you so negative?"

"Because, Kuraisaido, _I have no chance of becoming real_. You _do_."

"Fine, fine." She raised her hands up in an 'I surrender' fashion. "So, back on topic, how are we going to stop her from getting away?"

"You want me to send another legion after them?" He rolled his eyes.

"That would be ideal, Mokushi. Thank you. Now, was that so hard?" she singsonged playfully, cocking her head and leaning in uncomfortably close.

"You certainly ridicule me like a sister." Mokushi raised his hand and began to bend and warp the shadows, breathing life into the darkness.

"And you wouldn't stick with me if I was any other way." She grinned mockingly and leaned forward over the cliff the pair was standing at, watching as the twilight stretched the shadows as they peeled up from the ground. With another flick of his hand, Mokushi sent the wraiths off into the darkening night after their target.

"And so the cycle continues. Fight, win, flee, safety. Fight, win, flee, safety…"

;

Author Note: Hellooooooooo lovelies! I know some of you might think that I died or went into a coma. Or some of you might not have cared... I've had no creative flow because I've been crunching with school to get exempt from all of my final exams because I just had back surgery about five days ago. And I still don't think that the anesthesia wore off... the pain killers certainly haven't. The dumb little button to make a line wasn't letting me save it and _nothing else was working_, so that's the reason for the out-of-place semi-colon. Sorry for the awkward improvisation. So, yeah, I'll try to update more. "Joukei"=sight. I'm a little out of it... sorry about that. So R&R for R&R and make this recovering author happy! Peace out.

-cagedbird361


	5. Chapter 5: Save Yourself

Chapter 5: Save Yourself 

_Katana is 27; Hizoku is 9_

_ She sat bolt upright, breath choked in her throat, eyes wide, and body rigid. She knew the sound, the warning that came only when danger's shadow foreboded the eminent arrival of the beast. _

_ It was a whisper, a thousand voices melding into one warbled hiss of a million indistinguishable words. It rolled through the air like wave of the sea, ebbing and flowing, approaching and passing like wind running through the tree leaves. It pulsed, distorting the true distance of the danger, making it appear as if it could be miles from arriving or right outside the door. _

_ The snarls were becoming audible, inhuman growls and roars rumbling and echoing to send cold shivers up her spine. Like animals, no, like monsters lusting for blood and flesh, they were not yet visible, but their ability to instill fear was no less hindered. _

_ "M-m-mother?" His voice was tight and quiet. "I-is that…?"_

_ "Take what you need and run." She remained motionless, gripping the arms of the chair she was sitting in so hard that her knuckles were white. She was shaking as well, eyes staring forward and jaw tightly clenched. "Run."_

_ Hizoku sprang to his feet and bolted to his room, diving for the space beneath the straw mattress his mother had woven together. He pulled a rucksack from the gap, always having it packed with the most essential necessities for times of flight, and he hastily ran to the door of their lodge. Katana was beside him in seconds wearing a mask crafted in the likeness of a dragon's face, throwing a strip of black material at him. _

_ "Tie it on the way. Let's move." She stepped outside, whipping her head back and forth in search of the oncoming danger. "We don't have much time." _

_ "B-but, Mother. Why are they here now? They _never_ attack during the day!" Hizoku tugged the knot of the blindfold tight and joined his mother._

_ "I know. And that's what bothers me… Let's go." _

_ They ran. It was the only thing they could do. Katana knew that there was a hope that the daylight may weaken the stamina of the creatures and give them a greater chance of evasion, but nothing was ever certain with the shadow wraiths. They had only ever attacked in the dead of night, empowered by the darkness, barely seen unless they entered a patch of moonlight. They had the appearance of liquid mercury, only their hue was ebony. They would shine under the silver rays of the moon, revealing warping, roughly humanoid figures that would shudder and twist to disfigure any remote feature that would connect them to a true human. Arms and legs of black sludge would stretch forth, only to recede into the main body and emerge from another patch of the inky blackness. _

_ The only thing that remained stable with the shadow wraiths was their eyes. Two flawlessly circular orbs of a glowing yellow lay suspended in the exact same point of their gelatinous forms no matter which way they warped. And the yellow would turn a deep shade of crimson once they had located their targets._

_ The targets that were now running as fast as they could to escape._

_ Katana ran next to her son, painfully aware that he was moving far slower than she would have preferred. He was faster than any other boy his age, yet compared to the speed of what was necessary to survive, he would be the first to be left behind. He stumbled if his foot caught a rock or hooked momentarily on a stray branch or root, his one Byakugan eye activated and frantically scanning the area. Katana easily ran over the uneven ground, able to endure and compensate for the earthen terrain. But Hizoku was far less experienced, his chakra control still shaky when unable to take the time to stabilize it. _

_ It was a long way down the mountain, a long way of uncertainty and hearts beating in a frenzy of fear and exertion. Katana's senses were on fire, straining to detect any sign that their pursuers were getting closer. The shadow wraiths may have only seemed to be animate puddles of sludge, but the were remarkably swift. _

_ "W-where are we running to?" Hizoku turned his blindfolded face towards her for direction and guidance, depending on her as he always had to make the danger disappear. His breathing was only beginning to acquire a strained hitch._

_ "Head towards the village. Those things are in the sunlight to begin with, and I highly doubt they will follow us into a highly populated area. It's our best option to get out of this quickly."_

_ They reached the main path, sprinting down the dirt road faster than seemed humanly possible. Katana knew the world around her had decided to torment her stressed mind. Every animal sound brought thoughts of black sludge leaping from the shadows, every snap of a twig evoked visions of outstretched limbs of mucilaginous sable reaching to close over throats. Nothing was safe, no sight or sound could be trusted to remain innocent. When pursued, everything was a potential predator. _

_ The village had just come into sight when the first shadow wraith slid from the sideline trees and onto the path. _

_ Acting from pure instinct, Katana wrenched open the loose end of the scroll on her waist, causing a sword to materialize with a puff of smoke. She leaped forth and made one slash through the wraith, splitting it cleanly in half through its red eyes suspended in its mass. Its shape warbled and convulsed before seeming to sink into the ground and absorbing into any and all shadows being cast across the ground. Katana whirled around and clasped Hizoku's hand, pulling him into a sprint that he would never be able to maintain on his own._

_ They tore down the main street of the village, knocking into passersby and ignoring all protests and angered comments shot their way. The screams began instantly, wild cries of surprise and horror at the pair running for their lives and the creatures that caused the action. Chaos claimed the avenue, sending people scrambling in disarrayed directions and caring nothing for anything but themselves. Katana wove through the amassed crowd with difficulty, her chest tightening with the sudden fear at their drastically decreased speed. And the shadow wraiths seemed unaffected by the congregation of villagers. _

_ And no one was watching where they fled. They only cared that they escaped. _

_ And a frantic peasant clipped Hizoku harshly and Katana's grip was jarred from his arm._

_ She whirled around with a cry of horror, reaching out for her son as his own hand stretched for her. But she too was smashed into and carried back and away. She stumbled and roughly pushed those around her aside, painfully aware of the sword still clutched in her hand. She was jostled like a leaf in an autumn wind, carried about in a vicious undertow that refused to release her to stable ground. The pedestrians had begun to find shelter in the surrounding shops and buildings, possessing enough sense to flee out of the main road. She broke from the last of the stragglers, giving them none-too-gentle shoves to encourage their departure. _

_ Her sight was clear as she finally caught sight of Hizoku once more. _

_ He had fallen, swept off of his feet by the crowd, and the shadow wraiths were upon him. Limbs engulfed his slight form like a tsunami, embracing him in an inky mass of slime. He vanished within the deadfall, his cries of terror instantly silenced._

_ "NO! HIZOKU!" She could not find the strength to move, her body locking with the sight of her son's body disappearing within the enemies that they had evaded for so long. Her sword dropped from her numb fingers and she felt hyperventilation begin to wrack her chest, her eyes wide no matter how desperately she wished to close them and convince herself that it was all just a bad dream. Her voice had left her, an empty pit expanding in her chest. A part of her, a part of her soul, her very flesh and blood, was dying._

You failed. You couldn't protect him. He's gone. You lost him. It's all your fault.

_ Movement caught her attention from the side of the main street and a figure burst forth from under the eaves of a building. He leaped at the enormous mass now writhing and bubbling on the ground, seeming to be reveling in the victory of catching one of the victims that had so elusively evaded it for so long. But the man sprang at it fearlessly and unleashed a rally of kunai and shuriken. They slid into the mass with little visible effect, but the mass momentarily shuddered irregularly. _

_ The man then opted for a small slip of paper and leaped at the mass again, burying the paper deep into its layers and ripples. He retreated and shielded his face moments before the size of the mass exploded, a gaping hole yawning into existence. _

_ The mass froze. As if it were a massive block of globular obsidian, it stiffly seemed to be waiting. Waiting for the entire effect of the injury to come to light. And Katana realized that it was not invulnerable. Even if the mass was a hundred times the size of a single shadow wraith, it could still be conquered. And the snuffed candle of hope reignited with a faint spark. _

_ The man dove forward, plunging into the orifice he had opened, and reappeared clutching a small, limp body to his chest. And the moment he was a safe distance away from the quivering pile of sludge, Katana felt the mobility come rushing back into her body. _

_ She sunk her teeth into her thumb, drawing far more blood that was necessary, and wove the seals faster than she ever had. Her hand hit the ground with a thunderous crash and detonation of smoke, sending an enormous black dragon barreling into the assemblage of monsters. _

_ Fire burst from Shura-Tatsu's jaws, enveloping the creatures in a blazing embrace. A cacophony of wails, inhuman, rose into the morning air. They were high pitched screams, almost beyond the range of human hearing but just low enough to hurt, paired with a deep rumble that rattled through the ribs and shook the heart like a rag doll. The dragon seemed taken aback by the sudden assault on its eardrums, but he refused to lessen the force of his flame throwing breath. And Katana stood solid. She withstood the chthonic bellows with a harsh smile crossing her masked face._

_ Shura-Tatsu shut his jaws and reared on his powerful hind legs, towering over the mass that had been reduced to a small lump of darkness, writhing with the pitiful dregs of its existence. The dragon dropped his full weight onto the remaining creatures, burying claws deep into the earth with the pounce. With a final assurance, he raked his claws in, rending the pile into nothingness as it slithered back into the shadows. The only remaining signs of the struggle were a hellish scorch mark scathing the dirt road and eight gaping gouges in the earth from Shura-Tatsu's claws._

_ Katana let the breath she had been holding captive in her chest hiss out between her teeth, all of the tension and locking in her muscles and joints easing away. She sprinted to the side of the avenue to the man who had not moved from his place. He extended his arms and Hizoku threw himself into Katana, clinging to her with a trembling body desperate for warmth and reassurance and a promise that everything would be okay. _

_ Katana fell to her knees and clutched him to her chest, locking him in a crushing embrace that swore to chase the nightmares away, swore to bring safety from the monsters that dared to creep back into his mind. She could feel tears well in her masked eyes, holding him as tightly as he was holding her. She whispered reassurances, vows and oaths to never let it happen again, pledges to die before the darkness came again. Hizoku would never be able to forget the suffocating void, the oppressive abyss that had smothered him from all sides. He would develop a strong dislike for enclosed, tight spaces, but he would never admit that it was a mild case of claustrophobia. But it was something that would linger with him for the rest of his life. _

_ "Are you okay?" She released her hold and held him at arm's length, examining him as best she could. There were no outer blemishes on his skin, no evidence of marring, except that the blindfold had slipped down over his left eye. She delicately lifted the material, returning it to its rightful place._

_ "Y-y-y-y-yes-s-s-s-s. M-m-m-m-" He fell back against her, hugging her as tightly as his shaken body would allow, beginning to snuffle as tears started coursing down his cheeks. _

_ Katana held him to her and looked over his shoulder to the man still standing before her. "You. You saved him. If you didn't— If he was in there any longer—"_

_ The man heard her start mumbling under her breath and he was forced to lean in closer to hear her mask-muffled voice. He listened intently, convinced that she must have lost a moment of sanity and begun ranting in gibberish. But he caught one word, and then another, and he realized that she was _thanking_ him. In multiple languages and dialects, some of which the man had no inkling of their roots, origins, or meanings, but the few he could understand were all expressions of gratitude. The eyeholes of her mask were staring at him and she reached forward and grabbed his hand, the other arm still securing her trembling son in a protective embrace. _

_ "I-I need to do something for you. Something. Anything. I owe you my life for rescuing him. Please. Name anything, _anything_, that you want that I can do for you and it will be yours. Please let me repay you."_

_ The man stared at her with a bewildered expression. "It wasn't a big deal, really. It was the right thing to do, wasn't it? I mean, the kid was in danger. I couldn't just leave him to get hurt by that weird moving pile of crap. It was just a paper bomb that I shoved into it."_

_ "Please. Let me repay this debt." Her grip on his arm tightened and he could almost feel her eyes burning holes of seriousness and determination. "Anything you want."_

_ Shura-Tatsu stepped forward after asserting that all threats were obliterated and came to loom over Katana and Hizoku, casting a protective shadow over the pair and locking the man with a distrusting glare of crimson eyes. The man stared at the beast and a crooked smile crawled across his face. _

_ "Anything, you say? Then teach me that Kuchiyose. I want to summon dragons."_

_ Katana's grip dropped from his hand and she bowed her head, rubbing Hizoku's back as he gently cried away his fears into her hair. Above her, Shura-Tatsu released a rippling growl, a warning not to tread on the tail of the rattler. But the crooked grin did not waver from the man's face and it only grew wider as it opposed the warning. _

_ "Fine. If that is what you want." Katana rose to her feet and lifted Hizoku into her arms, knowing that her time of being able to carry him was drawing to a close. "What is your name?"_

_ The man once more locked the gaze of the dragon, challenging the lip curled in a snarl with a haughty smirk. "Just call me Ryuutsume."_

;******;

"That's all of it?"

"That's all of it."

It was not all of it. Neji knew it. Katana knew it. Hizoku was highly suspicious of it. In all technicality, it was all that was needed. It was not everything as Katana had promised, but it was everything that they could disclose without painting themselves or their ancestors in a negative light.

She had excluded the fact that her clan had only wanted her to procreate, substituting it for the half-lie that they were protective of their members and did not want to lose her to another clan. The family members that pursued her only wished for her return and their coercing for her to follow them became violent on occasions and resulted in their deaths. She said nothing of the reason she first left her clan, choosing to say that the pressure and restrictions were too great instead of the episode with the genjutsu. Her clan had been small and had perished under circumstances of an error that could have been avoided, not a detonation of the clan base housing every person of the large group. And she withheld the fact of her uncertainty when deciding to leave the Village for good, making him believe that she had been certain of his male parentage.

Neji too spoke with limited revelations. He attested to all episodes and occurrences that Katana had described between them, adding details she may have forgotten, finishing stories to show that they were shared. He left his clan as a harshly controlling body with little tolerance for outsiders. And he was simply, as they all had been, a marionette of fate dancing to the will of the puppeteer. Their hands remained clasped, fingers intertwined and providing reassuring squeezes whenever a difficult tale was being told.

Hizoku blinked his eyes of two colors, looking between his mother and the man he was supposed to call father. In the time they had spoken, he could easily detect the connection between them, the subtle and almost nonexistent gestures that signified something no words could ever describe to him. They had spoken so easily, filling each other's gaps and piecing together an elaborate puzzle that was too extensive, descriptive, and implausible to be made up on the spot. It was too wild and thickly woven with radical episodes for it to be false. Only the truest stories are able to possess such a quality.

"Well, that's… interesting."

Katana smirked and wiped her eyes; they had welled up with tears during several parts of her explanation. "Yeah, I don't think that there's another way to put it." She gave a breathy laugh and shook her head.

Hizoku's eyes turned to Neji. "So let me get this straight. You're from a prestigious clan, riddled with rules and regulations and crap like that, head of the 'branch family' of that clan, and were a very powerful ninja when you two met. And you-" he looked to Katana "-were a rebellious renegade from your overprotective clan who was chased by them because they wanted all of their ducks in a row. And _somehow_, you, two shinobi cut from completely different cloths at completely different ends of the spectrum, ended up wrapped together in that story you just told me. All those missions, and people from the Suterusu clan… That's how you met and…? It seems a little…odd…short…different…"

"We're not normal people, Hizoku." Katana gave him a wry smile. "Of course things are going to be different."

"I think I need a moment." Hizoku rocked to his feet off of the stone he had been sitting on and strode into the forest without another word or glance.

Katana looked after him, slightly concerned expression shadowing her face, until he disappeared between the trees. She sighed heavily and looked to Neji, her smirk modeling true humor. "Well, I think that went well."

"Do you think it's safe that you did not tell him everything? If it surfaces in the future—"

"It's not something he needs to know. Only you and me know all of the gory details. And he doesn't need to be added to the list. What will he think of me if he knows that I was used and manipulated in that way? You have far less to hide than I do."

"So it seems…" Neji cast his gaze to the ground and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "When we were telling him… All of those memories… I had almost forgotten all that we had been through. It truly is a miracle that we survived."

She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. "You should talk to him now. Go find him and answer any questions he may have. Now that he's in a suspicious and thoughtful mood, he should be more open."

"I will go in a moment. I want to stay here for just a bit longer."

Katana looked up at him to find him gazing down at her, a shadow of a smirk across his face. His arm slid to wrap around her shoulders and pull her closer to him. She closed her eyes and inhaled his distinct scent, recalling innumerable other occasions when she had done the same without realizing it or intending to. And it had never felt so real.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

There was only silence between father and son as Hizoku stared out into the forest, perched atop of a large rock that rose above several under layers of the leafy canopy. Neji stood on a lower outcrop of the rock, leaning against the main structure and waiting. Dusk painted the world in dust hues, draining the colors to sharp blacks and muted blues and purples.

"Why her?"

"Pardon me?"

Hizoku whirled around and looked down, still sitting on the ground, his brow furrowed in an identical way to Katana's when she was deep in thought. Only the furrow was on Neji's likeness. "Why did you choose a woman like my mother? She's obviously nothing like you. And from what I've deduced… You were a snooty, stick-up-your-ass, too-good-for-you, worship-me, I'm-the-best kind of guy."

Neji inwardly winced at how accurate he was.

"And that's no where near to the kind of person _she'd_ go for."

"I matured as I aged. Once I was an older teenager and I had been given more important responsibilities, I understood that I was just the same as everyone else."

"Hn."

Neji blinked at the syllabic grunt. _So it seems I have shown through in other areas besides his appearance._ "I was far from that severe when I met your mother."

"But you still had those traits. She's always shot down the guys that have those qualities. Bashes them like there's no tomorrow."

"Other men have shown interest in her?"

"Sure." He turned his body to the side, facing his head out into the forest. "When we go to a new village or something. She hides her scars so they suspect nothing and just think that she's a newcomer needing 'guidance' around the village. Then she makes sure they never come near her again and the village knows that she's not to be messed with. It's kind of scary sometimes. Sometimes I think she has an energy stronger than chakra to take down some of the hulks that have come after her. I don't even think I could have taken some of them out. And I never thought she was that pretty. Which brings me to another thing." He looked back to Neji. "If your clan was so amazing and you held enough status and stuff, then shouldn't you have gotten an arranged marriage with the prettiest and most distinguished girl in the nation? I'm sure your clan would have wanted that for the connections."

"I was not of the marital age at the time. I'm quite sure that time was approaching, but…"

Hizoku narrowed his eyes. "You're uncomfortable talking about this, aren't you? You have a vein that sticks out of your neck when you're stressed."

Neji subconsciously brought his hand to his neck. "That's very perceptive of you."

"Nah. The same thing happens to me. It was easy to look for." Hizoku returned to staring out to the trees. "So you don't like marriage? I'm guessing you either did get an arranged marriage after my mom left… or your wife died."

"We were never married."

"Oh." Hizoku pulled his blindfold from his pocket and began twisting the cloth between his fingers. "Why was that? No approval? Too soon a death? And I don't care if you don't like this. I want to know about you."

Neji felt an odd tensing in his chest at the way he was being addressed. Hizoku's manners were far from refined, brash and uncaring of his respect for elders. "I'm not entirely sure that I'm prepared to tell you about—"

"Don't worry about me judging you. I already know that you're an asshole, so the only way you can go is up. And I already overheard you telling my mom that you have another kid. I got her sense of hearing, if it's any interest to you."

Neji found himself at a loss for words. Hizoku was far too casual about it, blatantly stating thoughts that no child should outwardly speak to their parent. His expression was unreadable, a simple blank stare to show that he thought there was no error in his ways.

"You going to tell me or not? I thought you wanted to talk to me. You know, _father-son time_." He spoke as if he had a bitter taste in his mouth. He tugged at a loose string on one of the frayed ends of his blindfold, unraveling in slightly. Darkness had securely fallen, the trees blocking out the moonlight that would have illuminated the area.

"Well, first you have to understand that—"

"SHHHH!" Hizoku raised his hand, once again taking authority when the position was not his. He gazed off into space, not relying on sight at the moment, using all other perception.

Neji heard it as well, something like whispers and sluggishly dragged feet. Wind sliding through trees, a hushed language of unintelligible words murmured softly then loudly before quieting again.

"What is that?"

Hizoku's pale complexion had blanched even farther. "Them."

"HIZOKU!"

He leaped from the rock and met Katana as she ran up to the stone, her hand clutching his arm as she looked around wildly. She wrenched open the tail of her scroll and two swords materialized in the smoke and she took one in each hand, turning to face each direction in an aggressive stance.

"We don't have much time," she hissed quietly, searching for any definite sign to the location of their pursuers. "They'll be strong at this time. The moon isn't even visible to weaken them."

"What are they?" Neji looked between Katana and Hizoku, noting the uneasy and slightly feared turn of their eyebrows, identical between them.

"We don't know. They're like shadows with some purpose to come after us, wraiths that hunt us. We don't know why and they never stop attacking. They only vanish to return. Now let's go. We need to get a head start on them."

The three ran off into the forest, knowing nothing of those that followed, fleeing and waiting until the moment when flight would no longer be the most effective form of survival.

It did not take long before the first hand reached out from the darkness to brush at Katana's arm, grasping the air that she had run through moments before.

She turned and brought her sword down into the creature's head, severing it in two and sending the pieces scurrying back into the thickest of shadows. Another lunged at Hizoku from the opposite side, yellow eyes darkening to red as it sprang through the air. His own sword cleaved it in half, leaving fragments to fall to the ground and slither away. It had taken years of fighting and defending to discover that a blow between the eyes was the only way for a single wraith to vanish.

Neji soon became aware that the creatures had no interest in him. They leaped past him or slunk across the earth to spring up and attack, but claws and ebony limbs never ventured in his direction. Katana and Hizoku were back-to-back in a seemingly practiced fighting form. They moved well, each covering the other and preventing all wraiths from getting close enough to close spindly fingers over throat or face. They were surrounded and Neji felt as if there was nothing he could do from the outside. He was armed only with his kunai as a bladed weapon, and such a small tool would never be enough to deal a fatal blow.

But Katana and Hizoku were clearly experienced in fighting the monsters that formed a tight circle around them. Katana released a jet of flame into the air above them, causing the creatures to recoil from the light. She let another tongue of flame sweep across her stunned enemies, giving her enough time to swing her blade in a quick succession of varying strokes to eliminate them all. Hizoku fought in a similar fashion, only his blade and fire were not as experienced.

"Set it up, Hizoku." Katana slashed through another group advancing on her. "We need to finished this now."

"I can't get an opening!"

"There's always an opening! Do it now!"

"I can't! There's too many of them!"

"Get down!"

Hizoku threw himself to the ground as Katana wove a hasty pattern of seals. She swept in a wide circled, engulfing the small area in flame. Agonized and surprised cries rose into the night from the ignited monsters, some falling to shadow at the touch of the flame while others were alit and writhing on the ground. Neji jumped up into the lower branches of a tree to avoid the fire that would have reached him as well.

"Now there's an opening! About twenty of them! Now get up and set it up so we can end this!"

Hizoku clambered to his feet, his face red from the heat of the fire and his own embarrassment. He ran through the ignited creatures that remained sprawled on the grounds as they tried to regain their senses, and he sprinted up a tree with chakra at his feet. He flipped backwards into the air, weaving the same set of seals as Katana. In midair, he exhaled flames down onto the area, dealing a second blow to the creatures that had already been incinerated. Katana threw her hands into the air, a transparent red dome bubbling up around her and shielding her body from the flames.

The creatures emitted another cacophony of wails as the blaze descended upon them like the flames of Armageddon. They flailed and squirmed beneath the light of the fire, vulnerable as newborns. Hizoku landed on the trunk on another tree, clinging to it as Katana dropped her barrier and drew two more swords from her scroll. Chakra suspending the blades in the air, she swung them around the area, leaving no shadow untouched with her blades, the four swords assuring that the writhing shadows would no longer be animate. She targeted the pairs of red eyes, splitting them apart to end their existence before attacking any black shape that moved.

And Neji was relieved that he had ascended into the tree prior. Hizoku too had pulled himself onto a high branch, out of range of his mother's swinging blades. She impaled the last shadow with all four, causing it to melt into the ground and out of existence. The grass still smoldered and was alit in small patches with fire, the light flickering up and casting benign shadows over the three of them that posed no threat.

Katana steadied her heavy breathing and returned her swords to her scroll, averting her eye to her son and Neji. "Well, now that we got through that, let's move as fast as we can so it doesn't happen again."

"Show off," Hizoku muttered, sliding from his branch and landing lightly on his feet. "I've seen you take down twice as many of those things with only two swords. You just _had _to use four this time, didn't you?"

"Just thought I would evoke some memories." Katana winked in Neji's direction. "Now let's go. Unless you want more to catch up, that is." She turned and began to walk off into the trees.

"You don't know what those creatures are?"

Katana looked over her shoulder at Neji, a slight downturn present in her brow. She gave him a lengthy pause, her hand closing into a fist and reopening. "No. I don't know. I wish I did, but we know how to kill them now and… that's all that matters."

"But why didn't they attack me? They didn't even acknowledge my existence."

"Then you're just one lucky son of a—"

"Hizoku." Her tone was cold and reprimanding, her gaze stern and warning him 'this is not a trigger you want to pull'. "What ever they are is something I have wondered about endlessly with only one idea that is perfectly implausible. But it doesn't matter at the moment. So let's just get on our way. Oh, and Hizoku?" Katana locked her eyes on him, addressing him with a sidelong glance of disapproval. "Don't always depend on me to make an opening for you. You can't always rely on me to save you. Sometime soon, you may have to save yourself."

;*******;

Author Note: ARG! What's with this website not wanting to save my page breaks? No more lines, I've been forced to semicolons and asterisks. Oh well. Anyway sorry about that. I was frustrated. I'm hoping to update more so people pick this back up because my amount of reviews for last chapter was... disappointing... But I can't win them all... So I'm feeling tons better than I was before and I'm recovering well (but not well enough for me to make the excuses to sit on my lazy butt all day and write (; ) So, yeah. Not much else to say. R&R for R&R! The author still needs inspiration sometimes! And reviews=smiles. So I own nothing, just what has been previously claimed and any character whose name does not appear in the normal Naruto series. Peace out.

-cagedbird361


	6. Chapter 6: Heaven's a Lie

Chapter 6: Heaven's a Lie

Katana is 23; Hizoku is 5

_"Mother?"_

_ She sat bolt upright instantly, looking to the doorway of the small room she had sectioned off for herself. The quiet noise was able to waken her from her light slumber. The deepness of her sleep had faded remarkably fast from the moment he was born. Hizoku stood in the doorway, rubbing his left eye. Tears glistened on his cheeks in the moonlight shining through the slat-like window above the straw mattress Katana had woven together._

_ "What is it, 'Zoku? What's wrong?"_

_ "M-my eye hurts." He sniffled and bowed his head slightly, shameful for his tears._

_ "Again? Come here, sweetheart." She extended her arms and beckoned him forth. He crossed the short distance between them and nestled against her chest, burying himself in the protection of her embrace. It had always been the place where he felt safest. _

_ "Why does it hurt, Mother? Why won't it go away?" He shifted his arm to be able to cover his eye with his sleeve._

_ "I don't know. I wish I did. Tell me what it feels like. How does it hurt?"_

_ "It's like those plants. The ones I walked through once."_

_ "The nettles?"_

_ "Yeah."_

_ "So it stings?"_

_ "Yeah. And sometimes it feels like something is being pulled out of my eye. From the inside. Like someone's trying to take something out that's inside my head. It hurts, Mother."_

_ "Let me see. I'll try to make it feel better. Look up at me." _

_ She gently tilted his head up with her fingertips under his chin, looking closely into his left eye. Besides the reddish tinge from crying and rubbing at it, there was to altercation. He blinked rapidly, tears dribbling down his cheeks. The pearl-like irises gazed out at her, pleading for help and to make everything right again. Even though he had no pupils, she could tell that he was staring directly at her, peering into the depths of her heart and breaking it slowly. She felt a rend rip in the delicate fabric of her soul. She hated to see him suffering. _

_ "Close you eyes. Both of them." She knew her medical ninjutsu would be of little assistance. Unlike other medical shinobi who could tailor their jutsu in a heartbeat to best help their patients, Katana was limited to only stimulating the division of cells. Hizoku had no wound to speak of, only a sensation that was inexplicably caused. Promoting cell division was able to seal large gashes that would end a life through lose of blood. But there was no gash to seal. She carefully wove the necessary pattern of seals and rested her palms gently over Hizoku's left eye. _

_ The gentle violet aura pulsed in the night, casting uncanny shadows over the stone walls that surrounded them. Hizoku whimpered only once, his teeth sinking into his lower lip to assist him in keeping his composure. Katana held the jutsu for only several minutes longer, not wanting to possibly do harm should the technique be improper for the condition. The purple light faded and Hizoku opened his eyes, blinking them rapidly as if just waking from sleep. _

_ "Does it still hurt?"_

_ "No… Not really. It still feels strange though."_

_ Katana wrapped her arms around him, feeling him mirror the gesture and bury his face into her loose hair. She gazed up at the moon lingering in the sky just outside her window. How close it looked, close enough to simply jump into a tree and climb to the top to be able to brush its silvery surface. It seemed so easily to escape and clamber up into another world, to flee to another reality. But all earthly means bound them to the soil, trapping them within an unseen barrier of atmosphere that would refuse to ever let them leave._

_ "Do you think you will be able to sleep? It's very late, you know."_

_ "I know…" He trailed off, slowly raising his head and meeting her eyes. "Can you tell me a story, Mother?"_

_ Katana smirked and rose to her feet, taking her hand in his. She slid back onto her straw mattress and patted the space next to her. Hizoku curled up next to her, his pearl eyes shining up with wondrous curiosity yet held the weight of sleep. He would drift off very soon. _

_ "What story would you like to hear? The legend of the Chinese Zodiac again? That's your favorite, isn't it?" Katana pulled a thin sheet over them, one she had bartered for at the village. The night was warm, but the sheet did well to stave off any chill that might leak in during the nocturnal hours. _

_ "No, I like that one, but I don't want to hear it tonight. I want something different… Something new…" _

_ Katana brushed a stray strand of his hair behind his ear, woefully letting the corners of her mouth turn up. "I'm going to tell you of a mystic place. I will try to take you there some day, but there is a chance that you'll never get to see it. And I can't be sure whether or not keeping you from there is a good or a bad thing. _

_ "There is a village, far, far larger than the one at the base of this mountain, in a country near this one. The distance can be traversed by common folk in several months, but the people that hail from that village can cover the distance in less than a week if it was necessary. It is a place where people like us _are_ the common folk, we would be within the majority. We wouldn't be shunned and mocked for our abilities. The people would accept us and embrace us with open arms, glad to have us within their walls. We would be honored for our services, for we would live to protect and serve this village. _

_ "The air smells sweet, like a thousand wildflowers on a warm summer wind. Any flower that you can think of that you've seen here, and millions more grow in and around the gigantic walls that keep the village safe. It's amazing in the spring, when everything is dull from winter and all life seems to remember how to live. The colors are beautiful. The trees are enormous there too, ten times the size of those that you've seen in this forest. And there are no paths between them, you have to make your own or just weave around the massive trunks and hope not to stumble on the roots." She smirked at this, closing her eyes as if traveling across the continent to the world away from theirs. "There are warriors in the village, people like us. You would be called noble because of your eyes, and people would clamor to have us work with them for our skills. People would accept us for who we are."_

_ "You've been there before, Mother?"_

_ "Yes. It's the place where I was born. I was raised in that place." _

_ "Why did you leave?"_

_Katana opened her eyes and met his, the smirk fading from her lips. "Not everything can stay the same, Hizoku. You have to understand that. Certain things can turn your life upside down and you have to make choices. Sometimes the right answer isn't the one you want to choose. But to protect the ones you love, you know what you have to do." His eyes showed that he did not understand, the slightest crinkle in his brow creasing into appearance. Katana gave her hand a dismissive wave and continued her tale:_

"_I haven't been there since before you were born, and even before that I had to leave for four years. It's a place of dreams and nightmares. Everyone will tell you something different. You can live in peace or you can feel trapped. It all depends. But just to be there is wonderful. Away from the wild, away from unpredictability… Everything is planned for you. And you're safe. Nothing can come to try and hurt you within the walls. We would never have to leave in the middle of the night, we would never have to run for our lives again. The people are so diverse too. Even the most unlikely civilians could actually be warriors. The heaviest in weight, the skinniest in physique, the faintest of heart, the all have their areas to be brilliant and possibly save their home land from disaster."_

_ Hizoku's eyes shone with wonder, all traces of sleep gone. "What else is there?" He was soaking in every bit of information like a small sponge, keeping in within him with the hope that one fairytale might actually be real._

_ "Oh, there are shops to buy anything. You don't have to make what you need to survive, like we do out here. You can simply exchange what you need for money. You earn that by taking on missions that are given to you. The harder the mission, the more money you receive. You can buy food and weapons, or anything else you want for yourself. And they won't kick you out of a shop just because you're rumored to be strange." Katana gave Hizoku's nose a gentle tap, smirking at the memory when just that had happened to them. _

_ "Will we ever go there someday? I would really like to go." His voice was so hopeful, so filled with elation to face the world of the unknown where there could possibly be a chance for his life to be better._

_Her eyes closed half way, the smirk on her face taking on a somber tone. "Maybe I'll take you there someday. Someday when I think you're ready_." When I'm ready too, ready to face him again and tell him the truth.

_ "What is this place called, Mother?"_

_ Katana softly kissed his forehead and gazed into his eyes, prepared to give the name of the Village that had ruined her, the place where everything had fallen to pieces. "Konohagakure. The Village Hidden in the Leaves."_

;***************;

"Welcome to Konohagakure."

It was no fairytale. High, looming walls, sinisterly barricading all threats and discouraging even the bravest adversaries to turn away. Guards standing at the ramparts, gazing across the land for any sign of danger that may threaten their precious home. The main gates open, the only enticing quality of the first sight, yet the number of figures exiting was far more than the few that returned. Even in the small window of time, the only three that reentered the walls were battered and bruised, worse for ware and exhausted. Nothing sat right in the pit of Hizoku's stomach.

"What do you think?" Katana tilted her head in his direction yet kept her eyes on the Village nestled among the titan trees. They indeed were tens of times larger than the pines that Hizoku had grown up climbing.

"It looks like a prison." He coldly regarded the area that surrounded them, his one Byakugan eye straining for distance. "One giant prison. What kind of village has walls anyway? That's not a village. That's a fortress."

"In a way it is, but there is plenty of common civilization inside. Just wait until you see everything. You won't believe so much can fit within such a small area."

_Small? This place is huge… I've never seen such an enormous settlement._ Hizoku tailed his mother as she followed Neji down a slope towards the main gate, the monstrous entrance still half of a mile in the distance.

It was a disappointment. It was the one place that had humored his dreams, keeping him riveted to the unknown and pining for the possible hope of acceptance. He had closed his eyes more times than he cared to admit to gaze at the image of the better place that his mother had painted for him with her stories, the place where he would have peace and never have to wear his blindfold. He would never have to be ashamed again, never needing to flee from a danger that may stalk him in the dead of night, never need to fear every shadow or reach for his sword at every rustle of leaves. It was supposed to be heaven.

But it was nothing like he had imagined. There were no carpets of wildflowers, no scents of nectar or pollen. Everything was green as far as he could see until the Village sprang up like an intruding cuckoo. It had taken its territory among the trees, shouldering its way into nature where it should not have been permitted. Every other village had been modest, taking only what the earth allowed it to and respecting the wildlife around it. But the settlement before him was far too gargantuan for any modesty to be awarded. Its claim of the land was obnoxious, pushing away the trees that had once grown where it stood, commanding the earth that was not its to reign over.

They traversed the land, covering the distance quickly with no stops and no lingering. And with each step, Hizoku felt the knot in his stomach tighten, growing painful by the time they had reached the cobblestone road leading between the gates and into the belly of the beast. The place of his dreams was slowly becoming a nightmare. He had envisioned himself striding into an open area, his mother the only one by his side, and being welcomed by a crowd, exuberant for their return and accepting them with open arms. And his mother would smile at him and whisper "we're home" before taking his hand to lead him to a wondrous life not even his dreams could fathom.

But there was no crowd. There were three men, dressed in olive greed flack jackets and black long sleeve shirts and pants. Their headbands were tied to their foreheads, glinting in the sun with only malice and distrust. They did not cheer and smile with words of gratitude for their return. The gave Katana and Hizoku the same looks they had faced for as long as Hizoku had been alive: cold scrutiny, as if trying to peel back their skin in search of a demon ready to spring forth with claws and fangs. As if they were monsters.

"Neji Hyuuga," the man standing closest to them spoke up. "You have returned from your mission. We must know who your companions are. Otherwise, admittance is not permitted."

Neji cast a wary gaze to the two of them before stepping forth and murmuring softly enough for Hizoku to perceive nothing. The man's eyes widened in surprise and he in turn murmured a series of commands to his subordinates. They vanished in the blurs of shadows and the man turned back to Neji.

"We shall take you straight to the Hokage." He turned abruptly and began to lead the way.

Neji glanced back at Katana and gave her a smirk.

"We're home," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Hizoku used every fiber of his pride to fight off his urge to vomit.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Katana sunk into the cushioned seat beside Hizoku, exhaling heavily. "I've just told my story so many times, I think I'll be reciting it in my sleep." She extended her arms over her head, the joints popping softly as she stretched. "But I've still told you the tale of the Chinese Zodiac about a thousand times more. Don't worry, you still hold the top spot."

He refused to meet her gaze, casting his eyes to the ground and glaring at it as if he were pondering the most efficient way to murder it.

"What's wrong, 'Zoku?"

He twitched at his nickname. "Nothing, Mother."

"Don't lie. Something's bothering you."

"I said it's nothing. Let it be."

Katana took hold of his chin and turned his head to face her, forcing him to hold her gaze. "Something's got you stressed. That vein in your neck is going wild. What—?"

"I said lay off!" He wrenched his face away, resuming his angered stare at the floor. "This chair is too soft."

Katana stared in bewilderment. "Excuse me?"

"This chair! It—! Never mind." He pulled his blindfold from his pocket and began twisting the ends between his fingers.

"Please don't raise your voice with me, Hizoku."

He glanced over at her and felt as if someone punched him in the stomach. Her head was bowed, eyes hidden, but her hands were clutching her knees so tightly the knuckles were white and the veins were rising to the surface.

"I—I … Mother, I didn't—"

"I know it's hard. I know it's hard to change everything that you've known. I'm sorry that you don't see this situation the way I do, but just bare with the difficulty for now. It _will_ get better. It _has_ to. This is better for the both of us. Remember how I told you about this place?" She lifted her head to look at him, her weary eyes glittering with tears. "I know it may not seem as enchanting as I made you believe, but this is a better place. You'll see everything come to light soon. Once you adjust, once you—"

The door they sat beside opened up swiftly and Neji beckoned them inside. "Lord Hokage wishes to speak with the three of us."

Katana was on her feet in an instant, the tears gone from her eyes and a confident expression masking her features. Hizoku was still attempting to fight his urge to be sick at the sound of "the three of us".

They entered the office and faced the large oak desk, facing the Hokage in a straight line. Naruto Uzumaki had held the position for twelve years, the youngest person to ever become Hokage, but he had done very well orchestrating Konoha. Katana had only met the blonde once many years ago, but she could distinctly remember his voice ringing out "I'm going to become Hokage, dattebayo". And so he had, his face carved into the mountain right next to Tsunade.

"So, Katana Suterusu, you're quite the revenant, aren't you?" Naruto leaned back idly in his chair, studying her with a laid-back air.

"You could say that," Katana murmured, twirling the end of her braid around her finger with the hint of a smug smirk tugging at her cheeks.

"And this kid…" Naruto regarded Hizoku with the same expression, calm and unconcerned. Hizoku had a tight feeling in his chest that he was only seen as some sort of doll. "He really must be yours, Neji. He certainly looks like you did. Except for the eye."

Katana sensed every muscle in Hizoku's body tense and she grabbed his wrist, silently reminding him to behave himself. He was highly reluctant to comply, but his body eased as Naruto once again began to speak.

"We really shouldn't let you back into our ranks, Katana, but I'm a nice guy. I had Konohamaru check our records and, technically, you never returned from that suicide mission Tsunade-baa-chan sent you on. So you were never really a rogue ninja. Although the extended absence could test the Elders' judgments, I'm willing to let you return to being a Konoha shinobi and allow your son to join under a few conditions. Both of you will be screened with genjutsu. I want to make sure that you have no other affiliations or anything like that. I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from."

"Of course, sir," Katana murmured, slightly irked by the fact that her superior was younger than her.

"And you won't be given any drastically important missions for a while. I think it would be better for you to ease into this lifestyle again."

"Yes, thank you. And what of my son? You can't possibly expect him to attend the Academy, can you? He's a formidable force, I should have you know."

Hizoku kept his face expressionless as the Hokage returned his eyes to him. "I will have a jounin test him to see what he is capable of. We'll go from there with his rank."

_I don't like this. Ranks… Lifestyle…Rouge Ninja… Genjutsu screening… What is this place? An anthill? Are all of these _shinobi_ just here to serve and live for nothing else? I don't understand… I _don't_ like this._

Katana and Hizoku were ushered away quickly to an interrogation chamber where the screening would take place, the expression on Hizoku's face one of a hare caught in a fox's claws. Neji looked to Naruto and gave his head a gentle shake.

"Sometimes I still cannot believe that you're the same idiot who used to run into all situations head first. I still remember all of the times I was calling you back to keep your head. And now look at you. To think that you've matured this much… I don't feel so ashamed to have lost to you during our first attempt at the Chuunin Exams."

"Well I am Hokage now. I have to be mature about things. Hey! Wait a minute!" Naruto jumped to his feet and slammed his hands onto his desk. "You were _ashamed_ of losing to me? How could you be ashamed? Neeeeeejiiiiiiii, coooooooooome ooooooooooon! I'm the Hokage! Aren't you proud that you fought the Hokage? How could you _still_ hold a grudge for so long?"

Neji shook his head again, suppressing a laugh. "And in some ways you have not changed, Naruto." The Hyuuga turned and headed for the door before pausing. "By the way, Naruto, thank you for this. Thank you for taking her back in… and the boy to. I know it may have been stretching the rules, but…"

"Don't thank me, Neji. It's the least I could do for you. After everything… I can at least try to make up for the few things I slipped up on."

Neji bowed his head and walked to the door, resting his hand on the knob. "Still, thank you for the effort." He left the office before any more words could be exchanged.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Ow."

"What's the matter now?"

"I have a headache." Hizoku rubbed his temples, shutting his eyes and furrowing his brow. "Did they really need to be that harsh with the genjutsu? It felt like they were pulling my head apart with fish hooks!"

"Well if you hadn't resisted so much, they wouldn't have had to use so much force. You're skull's thick enough as it is."

"You could have warned me what they were going to do! How else was I supposed to react when they tried to strap me into that chair with all of the seals? It looked like an execution station!"

"I did warn you! I told you to relax and just go with it. But you just had to be stubborn and raise hell. But then again, what else could I have expected from you?" Katana playfully tugged her son's ponytail, smirking as he groaned. "My little rebel."

"Now my head hurts more!"

"Oh, quit the crocodile tears. It's just a headache. You've taken a knife to the shoulder and had the pulp beaten out of you and you barely cried."

"Yeah! Because I was going into shock from blood loss!"

They exited the double doors leading out of the police headquarters, blinking at the sunlight that assaulted their eyes after being in the dim underground. Neji was waiting beside the doors, arms folded over his chest in calm contemplation before they approached him, Hizoku several steps behind his mother.

"Well, aren't you the gentleman. Coming to walk us home?" Katana's smirk faded suddenly. "Right. Home. Hmmmm. That could pose a problem."

"I had the idea to bring you to the Hyuuga complex. Hizoku needs to be introduced as soon as he can."

"No way."

Neji and Katana glanced back to the teen, a firm glare set in his brown and white eyes.

"There's no way I'm meeting anyone. Especially anyone from your side!" He threw his glare at Neji, his teeth gritted and his breath hissing as his anger seethed.

"And Neji, being that he's your son, wouldn't your clan… The Branch Family…" The volume of her voice plummeted so only Neji could hear her. "The curse mark…"

"That is no longer an issue. The method of the curse mark has been banned for twelve years."

"What? You're serious? That's wonderful! Oh, Neji—" She moved to embrace him, but he caught her arms with his hands and kept them at her sides.

"That does not mean that I am free. I still have mine. I will until death. And there is still a Branch Family. I would not lead it if it did not exist. And it still poses problems. So—"

"Does _anyone_ want to tell me what the hell is going on?" Hizoku crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at them each in turn, his body feeling hot with growing anger. It was the feeling of exclusion, watching his mother act in a way he had never seen her before. Crying out like a schoolgirl, embracing for love and not for pity or woe, confiding terms and leaving him out. It was not how he had planned. He had never had this in mind.

Katana took Neji's hand as she spoke, casting him a glance as if asking permission. "This little bit of information will be told when it needs to be."

"Wait, so there's more you haven't told me? I thought you said—"

"We said we would tell you when we needed to," Neji spoke in a firm tone, commanding in a parental way. "Do not pry into what does not concern you."

Hizoku did not take well to it. "Don't. You. Dare. Act. Like. My. Father. You're _NOT_ my father! You have no right to boss me around! Don't tell me what I can and can't pry into! If it involves my mother, it involves me! And you can't change that!"

Katana swept forth and grabbed Hizoku by his shoulders roughly. "What are you doing?" Her voice was spoken through clenched teeth, an attempt to be firm and furious while keeping volume to a minimum. "Don't make a scene! That's the last thing we need! And stop acting like a child! You're fifteen, not five!"

"Then tell _him_-" he jerked his head in Neji's direction "-that he had no right to say stuff like that to me!" Hizoku too spoke in the same fashion as Katana, his jaw firmly clenched.

"He has _every_ right! He _is_ your father! Treat him with more respect!"

"Over my dead body!"

"What is wrong with you? Since when have you been one to disobey so vehemently?"

_Since he started trying to take you away from me… Since the moment I began to lose you… Since the moment I saw you change because of him… Since I realized that I could never bring you the happiness he does…_ "What does it matter?" Hizoku circled his arms and knocked her hands from his shoulders and turned his body away. He clutched his throbbing head, his vision blurring. "I just… have a headache…"

Katana sighed heavily and pushed her hair out of her face, exposing her scar in a way that she so rarely did. She pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed her eyes, shaking her head gently. "Come here, Hizoku. Come here." He turned and she opened her arms, beckoning him forward. She embraced him and he rested his head on her shoulder, but his arms remained at his sides. "Let's go. Just walk with me. It won't be as bad as it seems. If you want to meet the people who are like you, the ones that will accept your eyes, then you have to meet your father's clan. So will you come? Just give it a chance."

"Are you sure they will accept me?" He did not raise his head. It was the only hope he could cling to, the last promise of the heaven that was dissolving around him. He had seen far too many glares of distrust, too many spiteful words slung his way, too many dangerous situations caused by misunderstandings. He had been called a demon since he was a child, something that had been seeping into his skin no matter how thick he tried to make it. There was only the one chance for hope, hope that society would accept him as a person and set him free from the title of the blind-eyed monster with the ability to peer into the depths of the soul.

"I'm quite sure. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't."

Neither of them saw the grim expression darken Neji's features.

"Just keep your language clean and your temper down." Katana smirked and held him at arms length, gazing into his eyes, catching every emotion of uneasy swirling in their midst. "I know for a fact that they would not take well to that."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"The Hyuuga Compound… It's been a while since I've been here," Katana mused out loud, regarding the front gate with a humored smirk. "Such memories… You remember, right Neji?" She looked back over her shoulder as he stepped beside her.

"As if I could forget," he murmured, the corners of his mouth raising. "Although you were not here very frequently."

"Yeah. That night I got messed up with the dragon's chakra was my first time here… Then the night when I left for that mission…" She slipped her arm around Neji's, resting her head against his shoulder. "Although it wasn't a lot, it was enough, wasn't it?"

"It certainly was."

"So this place is your house…" Hizoku stopped behind them, forcing the two shinobi to part and turn to face him, just as he had hoped they would. Hizoku whistled though his teeth. "You really do have wealth in this clan, huh?" _Wealth means arrogance and stupidity… this might not be as easy as Mother makes it out to be…_

"We have our resources," Neji spoke with a nod. "The Hyuuga is one of the oldest and most noble clans in Konohagakure. We—"

"You probably have a past and long history that I really don't care about. So let's get this over with." Hizoku cracked his knuckles and took several steps forward before pausing to wait to be accompanied. "Are you going to come or am I going to be thrown to the wolves by myself?"

"Fitting description, don't you think?" Katana gave Neji a sidelong glance with a smirk. "The Main Branch at least. Cunning wolves that don't accept any outsiders into their pack…"

Neji cast his gaze to the ground. "You are more correct than you know."

"Oh really? I think I know perfectly well. Whose family banned us from seeing each other? It certainly wasn't mine. But… Then again, my clan did have a hand in causing that little situation… Okay, invalid argument."

Neji smirked and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I think I just realized how much I missed you."

"Father?"

They whirled around at the voice, Neji to respond, Katana out of interest.

She stood aggressively like a reared cobra, ready to strike at anything should its threat be proven dire. Her stance was staggered, braced for what ever could be thrown her way, and her hands were curled into loose fists, prepared to tighten and deal a defending blow. Her clothes were covered with dirt and smudged with grass stains, ripped and frayed in choice areas. Her face was flushed with sweat, her cheeks hued with a slight pinkish tinge that only made her normally pale complexion seem healthy. Her long hair was pulled back into a disordered ponytail, only adding to her aura of belligerence. She held herself with the same stature as a scorpion, warning all opponents to reconsider their decision to face her. She would have no regrets of unleashing her sting and leaving her foes to perish.

It was her eyes that gave her warning without saying a word. Her eyes were as cold as the snow which their color mimicked, distrusting and fierce with not a single hint of compassion. _Don't come near me! _her eyes forewarned. _Stay away! I'm not to be fooled with! I'll kill you if you look down on me! _

"Naiome," Neji murmured, stepping up to her. "What happened to you? You look as if you've been fighting for your life."

"As if you would care if I got into a situation like that! I was just training!" Even her voice was aggressive, harsh to compensate for the youth it betrayed. "You're home early. You said you were going to be gone for a while." She looked passed the older Hyuuga, locking Katana's eyes with bellicosity before shifting them to Hizoku behind her. "And who are they?" But her features suddenly faltered, a powerful blow striking the foundation that firmly held her together. She knew the exact answer to her question, the truth plowing into her stronger than the force of any jutsu known to shinobi.

"Naiome, this is Katana Suterusu. She is the one I told you about, the friend who I was close with."

Katana took the initiative to step forward. "Hello, Naiome. It's very nice to meet you." She inclined her head, never taking her eyes from the young girl, observing her reaction carefully.

She did not move. All harshness from her face had vanished, replaced with incredulous shock, as if she had been told an earth shattering secret, as if death had relinquished the life of someone she had believed was gone forever, as if one of her worse nightmares were standing before her.

"You," she whispered, the only word her voice could manage. "You." She looked back to Hizoku, examining his eyes and quickly determining their origins to be from the two others standing before her. She looked back to Katana, her eyes narrowing. "Don't come near me. Don't you dare!" She stepped back, clenching her jaw and falling back into her aggressive stance. "You don't belong here! Neither of you do! YOU DON'T BELONG!" She turned and ran, sprinting down the path and out of sight before she could be stopped.

"Naiome! Wait!" Neji made a move to run after her, but Katana extended her arm and stopped him.

"Tell the elders of your clan that I still had something to settle with the Hokage. I'll be with you guys shortly."

"What are you going to do? You're not thinking to go after her, are you? She's not going to listen to you. She doesn't even listen to me."

"Have you ever looked into her eyes, Neji?"

"What are you saying? Of course I've looked into her eyes."

"No, I mean really looked into her eyes. Beneath that hostility she so boldly hides behind. Have you ever looked past that?" Katana met his gaze. "She's not as strong as she pretends to be."

"How can you say that? You just met her."

Katana turned her gaze to the direction where Naiome had run off to. "I can say it because I had those same eyes when I was her age. Those same harsh eyes that want the world to see them for what they are actually pleading for." She spun around and gave Neji a shove back towards Hizoku. "You two go on ahead. Bond a little more. I'll be around shortly." She was gone in a puff of smoke before anything else could be said.

"Well, your mother is as impulsive as always."

"Yeah, it's nothing new to me. I'm the one that's been taking the brunt of those actions for longer than you." Hizoku gave Neji a bored expression. "So that girl is… my half-sister?"

"Yes. Yes, she is. She hasn't had the easiest of childhoods. She has a bitter attitude."

"I can tell. I haven't had the easiest childhood either, you know. But at least my mother raised me better than you raised her. Now shall we get on with this meeting or whatever it is? I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."

Hizoku turned and strode to the main gate, Neji keeping his sullen emotions to himself as they entered the compound. And his mind was far from in the present as his inner turmoil rolled in his chest. _Eyes like Katana's used to be… I never truly thought of it… I never really noticed… Is it possible that she isn't as hostile as she seems to be? That's the only way I've ever seen her… And for me not to know…_

"Come on, space cadet! And I thought you were the regal one! But you look like you're in another dimension!" Hizoku folded his arms over his chest as he glared back at Neji.

The Hyuuga sighed and quickened his pace as he entered the main house and led the way through the tangle of corridors. _ Now is not the time to think of those matters. Right now, I need to focus on Hizoku. And pray to Kami that he does not use that type of language with the elders. _

;************;

Author Note: Ta Da! Yay, I had some fun and a boat-load of irritation with this chapter. Couldn't seem to get anything right and the descriptions killed me... I was trying my best, but I don't think that I did so well... Any way, yeah. My friend showed me the wonder of shojo manga and I'm sickened and fascinated. So the Chinese Zodiac story (does that even exist in the Naruto universe?) was my little reference to Fruits Basket (jeez that manga wasn't as bad as some of the other shojo stuff I've seen. I liked it sooooooo much. And oh how I love the bishis X3) Okay, back to the Naruto fandom, everyone is coming together! I'm actually excited to write what comes next. Providing that writer's block decides to plague someone else's mind and takes a vacation from my own '-_- So not much else. I own nothing, just what I have claimed previously. R&R for R&R! Peace out.

-cagedbird361


	7. Chapter 7: Walking Disaster

Chapter 7: Walking Disaster 

_Katana is 25; Hizoku is 7_

_ He was curled in a ball on the straw mattress Katana had woven for him, staring at his hands. They rested in front of his white eyes, as limp as the rest of his body, and he sighed heavily. His eyes flicked to the window above his head, following the sunray that streaked through the pane to illuminate the opposite wall. Dark would fall soon. And for once he was too preoccupied to care. _

_ "Hizoku! I'm back!"_

_ He could hear the front door open and close, accompanied by quite footsteps as she went about the house. Wherever she had been and whatever she had acquired was being returned to its rightful place somewhere within the many cabinets and storage spaces of the house. Hizoku had to admit he felt much more normal within the wooden commodious abode than in the small stone lodge that served as their safe house. It was a far distance from the small village they had called their half-home, the village where he was born, but Katana never hesitated to rouse him in the middle of the night to carry him on her back off to the stone lodge. And he never knew why._

_ But that was not what weighed down his mind._

_ "Hizoku? Where—?" Her footsteps paused at his doorway and he could feel her eyes on his back. He rolled over and faced her. She instantly saw the shine of tears in his eyes. She swept over to him, descending to him like a warm blanket. "What happened? What's wrong?"_

_ "I don't understand, Mother," he whispered, sitting up and letting his legs dangle over the edge of the mattress. "I just don't understand."_

_ "What is it? What don't you understand? What happened?"_

_ "You said that it wouldn't hurt… But it does… It does!"_

_ "What hurts?" She wrapped her arms around him, pulling his slight frame into her lap. "It's not your eye this time… What happened?"_

_ "You said that words wouldn't hurt me! But they do! I don't understand how!"_

_ Katana was silent and held him to her tighter, hearing him sniffing and fighting off tears. She ran her fingers through his hair, resting her chin on the top of his head. "What are they saying, Hizoku?"_

_ "It's not just about me anymore… They're talking about you, too." He wiped at his eyes. "They call me things, and they call you things… Then they tell me that we aren't normal… That no one is going to ever be my friend as long as I am who I am… Not just because of my eyes either… They say I'm not one of them. They want me to be like them, but I don't want to. I tell them that they're wrong but… but they don't stop. No matter what." He rested his hand over his heart. "It hurts here."_

_ "Sticks and stones may break my skin, but words will stab my soul within."_

_ Hizoku lifted his head. "What?"_

_ Katana pressed her forehead to Hizoku's, her arms growing even tighter around him. "Sometimes the saying I told you has a different version… I told you not to listen to them. They tell you things because they're jealous."_

_ "They're not jealous! No one wants to be like me! No one wants my life! They do it because they don't like me! They want me to be like them so they try to change me! But I don't want to change! Why won't they stop?" Hizoku buried his face into Katana's hair, his arms wrapping around her neck._

_ She closed her eyes and ran a hand down his back as he trembled against her. "No one likes differences, Hizoku. It's in the nature of humans. If something isn't how we like or isn't what we're used to, we instinctually reject it."_

_ "You never should have had me, Mother. It would have been so much easier for you." His voice was muffled with her hair._

_ "Never say that!" Her chest shuddered against him. "Don't ever say that. It would never have been easier." It was then that she realized just how harshly he was being affected by what had been said to him. "We're going to leave this place soon, Hizoku. Just wait a little longer."_

_ "How much longer?" _

_ "I can't give you an exact time. But it won't be long. I promise." _

_ Hizoku let her go and curled back up on his mattress, feeling her presence watching him. Hesitantly, he felt her weight rise from the mattress and her footsteps ebbed off into another of the three rooms of the house. She slumped into a chair at the small table in other room, resting her face in her hands. _We truly need to get out of here. This isn't the place for him and this isn't the place for me. They can't accept us because they just want everything to be uniform. And Hizoku would never change himself to be like this people. It's in his nature to resist authority and conformity. Maybe I should have been more careful when naming him…

;*************;

She was repetitively slamming her open palms into the bark of the tree until the under layer was exposed and splintering. Her eye were narrowed, teeth gritted, mind on nothing else in the world besides the wood beneath her hands and the charka flowing though her system. Her breath came in ragged gasps as trickles of sweat rolled down from beneath her leaf headband. She could see the approach of the other long before she could hear their footsteps, but she made no motion to address the newcomer. She pummeled the bark with newfound vigor, silently praying that the other would recognize the intensity of her training and be leave. But the other simply leaned against another tree, scrutinizing every palm thrust.

Naiome felt a broken edge of the bark pierce her hand with her next strike. She let her arm fall to her side and rose from her Jyuuken stance, closing her eyes and sighing as blood ran down her palm. "What are _you _doing here?"

"You ran away so fast that we didn't get a chance to speak to one another." The other walked forward, hands casually in her pockets. Her expression had an aloof undertone. Naiome glanced over her shoulder, annoyed by the other's clear ignoring of the fury in her gaze. Her eyes wandered over the other, taking in ever detail of her appearance. Her braided brown hair, tired brown eyes, the scar on the left side of her face, the back clothes she wore, the choker around her neck… The choker Naiome had seen her father clutching once… Clutching it as if it was his tie to life…

"Did you maybe think that I didn't want to speak with you? Maybe I had a reason to run away?"

"Oh, I understand that fully well. I know that you want nothing to do with me and want nothing more than for me to disappear. But you're going to have to face me eventually, so why not make it sooner than later?"

"I said that you don't belong here. You never should have come." Naiome turned around fully, glaring the other deeply in the eye. "You aren't welcome here."

"That's pretty harsh for a twelve-year-old to say," the other shook her head, her braid slipping from over her shoulder and swinging behind her back. "But I know that you don't mean them. You're just hurt and lashing out in the only way you know how to."

Naiome blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about? Who are you to say such things?"

"As for who I am, I thought you heard Neji say my name is Katana. And I can say such things because I've done it before. I've been lost in my life for more time than I've been found, and I know that words are just as painful as any weapon when stabbing into a person's heart. And even if words aren't a tangible form of defense, they have the power to cut the soul to shreds. And wounds like that take far longer to heal than any flesh wound, if they even heal at all. And once the soul is broken, there's no turning back. I've used words when I've had nothing else, and it's kept me alive. And words have been used against me as well. And I know better than most how an existence can seem like nothing once you start to believe what others are saying. What you've said might have once sent me running away, questioning my worth and pondering the value of my life. But now I know that people only use words when they themselves are infected with their own thoughts of self-doubt."

"Stop talking!" Naiome took a step back, her arm rising to cross in front of her body as if preparing to attack. "Shut up! What do you know! You have no right to make assumptions like that about me!" Her breathing was heavy, whether from exhaustion or fear could not be said.

"So I'm right, I see."

"No! You're not! Get away from me! I don't want to see you!"

"Now that sounds more like a bratty twelve-year-old. I'm glad we got past that little roadblock." Katana walked over to a nearby tree and sunk to the roots, sitting back and leaning against the truck. There was a large chuck of the bark missing, as was so on most of the other trees in the clearing. "You train a lot, don't you?"

"What's it to you?"

"You stay away from your family then."

A choked laugh of mocked humor bubbled up from Naiome. "What family? Are you talking about that clan? They're not my family. They never have been, and they never will be!" She folded her arms over her chest tightly, staring off into the trees with a sulking expression.

Katana smirked and gazed at the young girl, her heart softening. _She's _exactly_ like I was._ "You look like your mother, you know. Not your eyes, but your facial structure is nearly identical."

Naiome whirled towards Katana so fast her ponytail whipped her in the face. "You knew my mother?"

"Yeah, I knew her. I fought her, too. She wasn't a bad fighter actually. She gave me a good challenge; only person I know who could fight me off with only a bow staff. We never did get to finish our spar. My sister interrupted us, actually."

"You have a sister?"

"Had one. She's dead now."

"Oh." Naiome glanced away. "How unfortunate."

"Not really." Katana linked her hands behind her head and leaned against them. "I'm the one who killed her." Naiome glanced back with shocked incredulity. "Like you, my clan wasn't really my family either."

Katana turned her gaze to the sky, highly aware of the wide-eyed stare Naiome had locked her with. "You… killed your own… sister?"

"She attacked me first if that rationalizes it at all. In this world and the profession we enlist ourselves in, your worst enemy might be the very person you shared a room with when you were a child. No one is safe from anyone. That's one of the most important things to remember." Katana rocked to put her weight on her feet and stood, tilting her head in Naiome's direction and smirking. "You're probably wondering how I ever got involved with your father and managed to keep a child alive this long if I have the heart, or lack of one, to kill my sister, right? Well, I'll just leave it as things happen and situations come up and sometimes the best choice isn't in your moral interests."

"You're a monster."

Katana gave a forced laugh. "Your father said the same thing to me once." She gazed up to the sky as a flock of birds soared through the air. "But one day you may be forced into a situation similar to mind. Just remember that everything isn't hunky dory like this Village makes it seem. You're still a genin so you've probably never been outside these walls. But once you leave, it's a whole new world and anything can happen. I've live in the outside world for far longer than I've been within these walls, and it's not some camping trip. Just be prepared that you may have to kill someone you've held dear to you. Or even sacrifice yourself."

"Don't give me advice like you know everything! And stop trying to make yourself seem like the good guy! It's not working!"

Katana raised a hand. "No need to snap at me." Katana caught Naiome's gaze. It was distressed under the mask of anger and fortitude. "You've haven't even taken your first life yet, have you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Katana squared her body to Naiome, her brown eyes piercing the younger girl's with seriousness. "You call yourself a ninja and you haven't even killed someone? Do you even know what the definition of a ninja is? We specialize in espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination. Genin aren't even real ninjas, if you think about it. This Village just gives the illusion that you're in the system until you're old enough to face your enemy and say, 'okay, now I can handle slashing a few throats'. This place babies all you little kids. I've been nomadic for the last fifteen years, and I've seen the way other villages train their shinobi. It makes this place seem like a playground. Only a few clans around here have the right idea. I heard the Uchiha Clan was pretty good about getting their kids ready, but they were massacred for that, weren't they? And the Hyuuga Clan… It's kind of a joke too. They only train the Main Branch, don't they? And only give the Cadet Branch the barest necessities of knowledge to serve the higher ups, right? What a waste of talent."

"SHUT UP!" Naiome grabbed at a scroll she had tucked into a holster at her side, pulling forth the loose end and summoning a sword. "TALK LIKE THIS AGAIN AND I'LL KILL YOU! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT MY CLAN! YOU KNOW NOTHING!"

Katana was unperturbed and her expression remained aloof to the blade pointed at her chest. "Put the sword away. I didn't even say anything incredibly offending. And don't talk like you could actually put a sword through my heart. Not only would you be unable to touch me, you wouldn't have the guts to actually run me through."

"YOU WANT TO BET?" Naiome lunged forward, blade extending to bridge the gap between them. Katana evaded with ease, the exaggerated swing blatantly showing its path. She grabbed Naiome's wrist and twisted her arm behind her back, grasping the back of her head and forcing her to her knees. The blade fell from Naiome hand as her fingers went numb as a pressure point in her wrist was struck, her body beginning to tremble slightly.

"I'm ranked as a jounin, Naiome. If you think a genin like yourself could go against me, you should go back to your little Ninja Academy. I thought you would be smarter than this."

"LET ME UP! WE'RE NOT DONE FIGHTING!"

"We hadn't even begun." Katana released her hold on Naiome and picked up the girl's fallen sword. "This is the blade you use? Your choice of weapon?" Naiome only glared at her with the utmost of hatred. Katana studied the craftsmanship, checking the balance and proportions of the blade to handle, testing the edge on her thumb. "If you want to survive becoming a Chunin, never use this sword again."

"What! Why not?"

"This sword was crafted for a taller, more filled out person, not some skinny waif like you. The balance is all wrong for your body type. You wouldn't be able to hit a target at your feet in the bull's eye if you tried to fight with this thing. You need something shorter and lighter, a sword with a thin blade."

"That sword belonged to my mother! You can't tell me I can't use it!"

Katana flipped the blade in the air, catching in near the crossguard and extending the hilt out for Naiome to take. "And that's why you can't use it. I told you I knew your mother. She had a different build than you. You've got a Hyuuga body type: all lean and lanky. Your mother was shapely, substantial. Like me. She could handle a blade with a little mass. Even if you become incredibly strong, this sword will still be disproportional for adequate use."

Naiome snatched the sword back, her body trembling with anger. "Leave. Me. Alone."

"I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you see you end up dead."

_The exact opposite goes for me,_ the glare Naiome's eyes bored into her with hissed.

Katana sighed and scratched the back of her neck. "Look, I might have gone off on a tangent back there. Sorry about that. The main thing I came here to tell you was I'm not going to try and take anyone's place. I'm not going to butt in and try to act like I'm your mother and try to baby you and give you advice and shelter you through life. I would never do that. I know this may be hard to get used to, but try to bear with me for a while. I know it's difficult for a kid your age to try to understand." _Although that whole fiasco with my brother and his damned genjutsu scheme happened to me when I was her age…_ "But it's not the easiest thing for me either. So much has changed since I was last here… But if I can be of any assistance with anything you need, whether to talk or spar, or anything, never hesitate to ask."

"You don't know anything. Why can't you just leave me alone? I hate it when you adults do this! You think that you can act like a savior and fix everything with your advice and wisdom! But it's all worthless! You think you can save me? You think you can change the world? You're wrong! YOU'RE WRONG!" She turned and ran off, a choked sob bubbling in her throat as she disappeared among the trees.

Naiome sprinted through the training ground, wishing herself away, desperate for an escape, pleading the world to let her run away. She could feel the pain in her throat, the pain that came from the lump that meant she was about to cry. Her pace ebbed to a stop, her breath rattling in her chest as it tried to pass her constricted airways. She fell against a tree, scrabbling at the abrasive bark as she sunk to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut to hold back her pain.

"It's not fair," hissed through gritted teeth, clenching her jaw and digging her fingertips into the earth, feeling the soil and grass lodge under her nails. "It's not fair! Why? Why does this have to happen? Out of nowhere, this woman, this monster! She's… She not a human… And my father…! She's the one he…! How could he fall for such a creature?" She punched the tree beside her, cracking the outer layer of the surface, breaking the skin on her knuckles. She gazed down at the blood dribbling down her hand, the same one she had punctured earlier. "He's as much an idiot as the rest of them!"

_**Why question the things that be. Succumb to them. Go with it. Admit that there's nothing left for you.**_

Naiome clutched her head, snapping her eyes shut and doubling over. "Please not now. Stop it… Leave me alone…"

_**You're fighting again. Why do you fight? There's nothing to fight for. Even if you win, what will there be? What do you even want? Acceptance? Freedom? It's a joke. It's all a ploy.**_

"Shut up! I don't need you whispering in my mind! Go away!"

_**As long as there is someone better than you, as long as there is someone to cast their shadow over you, you will always be in the darkness. And even if you conquer them all, and you are closet to the light, your shadow will be the largest, stretching out behind to remind you of the path of darkness you have taken and carved for yourself… You are the darkness. That is where you belong.**_

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Naiome fell flat to the ground, curling into a ball, her body shaking and breath gasping in her throat. "This isn't what I want… I don't want any of this… Why…? Why…?" She whispered the single word continuously as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her body went slack and she fell into unconsciousness.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The petite woman in a black Cadet Branch robe led Katana thought he labyrinth of hallways in the Hyuuga compound. The path was walked in silence, the woman keeping her head bowed as her footsteps made no sound on the hardwood floors. Katana kept to silence as well, straining her ears for any hint of the on goings within the expansive building. She was within an area that was alien to her, every inch polished and furnished lavishly: the Main Branch quarters. The woman finally reached a sliding door and voices could be heard in a tone suggesting an argument. She slid the door open.

"Excuse me, but Katana Suterusu has arrived for the meeting."

"It's about time! Bring her in!"

Katana was hastily ushered forward, pushed almost, by the woman before she shut the door with a firm smack. A lock was clicked into place. Katana turned to face the assemblage at a long, low table, quickly deducing their order. At the head sat a young woman, younger than herself, with a solemn countenance, her right side flanked with elders and her left with clearly lesser members. Hizoku was sitting at the foot of the table, his expression tight and anxious, but his was only apparent to Katana. There was an empty seat next to him, which he mockingly patted.

"I apologize for the delay. The Hokage had some matters he needed to further discuss with me." Katana took her seat and looked to her right, locking Neji's eyes with a humored gaze only he could detect.

_At least she can lie convincingly under pressure,_ he thought with some relief.

"Yes, yes, we are aware of this! Now, let us condense what has been discussed." It was a Head Elder who spoke, the oldest in the room, and sitting directly at the young woman's right hand. "_Many_ of us," he looked down the line of his subordinates to his right, "are highly averse to having this child join our ranks—"

"And I clearly said that I didn't want to be among them in the first place," Hizoku muttered under his breath to Katana. Neji was quick to give him a warning look.

"—as he is clearly not educated well enough to let us be comfortable he will carry on the Hyuuga name honorable.

"And I said that I had never in my life used the name. I don't even use _yours._" Katana gave her son a harsh jab in the ribs.

"And we have only a limited choice of options. We can either relegate him to the Cadet Branch, which would require him to be branded with a curse mark—"

"Which, I might remind you again," Neji spoke, his gaze and tone firm, "the practice of which has been banned under the Hokage's orders."

"Yes, yes, that is understood." The Elder waved his hand dismissively. "But our only other choice is to take him in and teach him how to be a proper Hyuuga. And I certainly find no point in that." The Elder trained his gaze on Neji. "You've certainly ruined your reputation, Neji. You were the pride and prodigy of the clan and you've striven to become the Head of the Cadet Branch like your father. But, like your father, you've come into contact with some foul play. First that ordeal with that no-name girl which left you with that wash-out Naiome," Neji visibly winced, "and now you come back with this whore who we've _already_ had problems with in the past. And she comes back with a half-grown bastard son no less."

"HEY!" Hizoku slammed his hands on the table and rose to his feet, making nearly everyone around the table start. His expression was fierce. "Listen, Pops! You think that just because you're old means that you can say anything about anyone? This is disgusting! This is your _family_! I don't know too much about that subject, but I know enough to know that this is _not _how it's supposed to be run!"

"Sit down, Hizoku," Neji hissed, reaching for his son's arm. "Be respectful to the Elders."

"No!" Hizoku swatted Neji's hand away. "No one calls me a bastard and gets away with it! And _no one_ calls my mother a whore! I don't care if you lead this clan! I'll skin you like an animal! I'd be ashamed to be named Hyuuga! This is sickening!"

Neji had blanched and turned a sickly shade of green, burying his face in his hands. Such disrespect had never been spoken to an Elder, let alone the Council of Elders. Neji could only be certain that Hizoku was as good as dead. Such actions were not reparable.

Katana clasped Hizoku's arm, holding him back as he was about to spring over the table and begin making his threat true. _That's my boy, _Katana smirked inwardly at the viciously defiant glare Hizoku cast around the room. _That's the Suterusu in him. Never taking crap from anyone and refusing to submit to regulation._ "Hizoku," she spoke out of the side of her mouth as quietly as possible, "if you want to see tomorrow, get the hell out of here. Use the kekkei genkai and run like your ass is on fire."

"Enough!" The woman at the head of the table rose to her feet, commanding all of the attention in the room. "I will not stand for this."

"I concur, Hanabi-sama," the Head Elder eked out, his face reddening from anger. "This boy shall be punished fittingly."

"No, _you_ were the one out of line." She cast the gaze of her white eyes to the Elder, narrowing them with slight contempt before raising them to Hizoku. "I must commend you, child, for being brash and stupid enough to voice such words. I assure you that many a clan member has wished to say such things." She ignored the aghast expressions around the table directed her way. "I will discuss things further with the Council and make plans and such. But until then, I suggest to the both of you," she glanced at Katana, "not to stay here. Find a place outside the compound to live until decisions have been made. You are dismissed. Leave timely."

Katana and Hizoku did not need to be told twice.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Holy hell!"

"You dodged a major shuriken in there, you know? You could have gotten raped for what you said!"

"Mom!"

"Just putting it in perspective! But it wouldn't surprise me if they used that as a punishment either… And since when have you called me 'mom'?"

"Since when have you said that what I say would get me raped?" Hizoku's complexion had faded a few shades, his persona clearly shaken.

"Then why the hell did you say those things? You could have gotten both of us chained to a wall!"

"You know how I get…" Hizoku glanced away, balling his hand into a fist. "No one calls us names… No one…"

Katana wrapped her arm around his shoulder and tugged his ponytail. "Looking out for me as always, I see? You're so sweet."

"Don't make it sound like I'm some mama's boy! You're not a whore! Why do people always say that? It makes no sense! What else am I supposed to do if someone says that to you?"

"I'm just glad I caught you in time before you decided to jump over the table and bash some heads. Then we really would have been killed. At least the new leader of the Main Branch is considerate. If it was anyone else, I don't even want to fathom the consequences."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"I want to see an old friend. She lives in the apartment complex up ahead, at least I hope she still does. And don't worry, you can act any way you want around her. The more you mouth off, the more she'll love you."

_The hell? What kind of friend is this? _ Hizoku followed Katana through the streets to the large building she had pointed out, entering it and climbing the large flight of stairs. Katana walked the halls as if she owned them, but her steps became hesitant as she stepped up to one of the doors.

"If I get knocked unconscious, don't worry. It just means she's happy to see me. And don't try to fight her off. If she doesn't bite you, the snakes will."

_Snakes?_

Katana knocked on the door and waited. There was silence and no movement behind the door whatsoever.

"Maybe she's not home."

"Shhhh."

There was the slightest scrape of a lock opening and the door flew open. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? IS THIS A DREAM? ARE YOU A GHOST? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Hello, Anko. We have a lot to talk about. A lot. Can I come in?"

Anko's fist violently crashed into Katana's jaw, sending her into the wall of the opposite side of the hallway. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU'VE BEEN DEAD FOR FIFTEEN YEARS! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" She whipped her head towards Hizoku, who took a cautionary step back, his hand gravitating towards his sword as her fist raised.

"Calm down, Anko." Katana raised her head, a hand holding her bruised cheek.

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN?" Anko bolted forth and buried her fist into Katana's stomach, causing her to cry out and double over. Hizoku loosed his sword from his sheath, but was highly hesitant to step forward.

"Anko?" A voice came from within the apartment and a man stepped from the threshold. "What's going on?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT'S GOING ON, KAKASHI? KATANA'S BACK FROM THE DEAD!"

Kakashi looked from Katana to Anko to Hizoku and back again, his expression unreadable on his masked face. "There has to be a rational explanation for everything. People don't come back from the dead."

"THEN WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS?" Anko grabbed Katana by the neckline of her shirt and held her out to Kakashi. "THIS IS NOT A GHOST! I CAN TOUCH IT!"

"A-Anko, please let me go," Katana murmured, wincing in pain. "Can't we just talk instead of you beating me up? It's going to be a lot harder to speak with a half broken jaw, you know…"

Kakashi rested his hands on Anko's shoulders. "Let her go before you strangle her. We don't want any murders in the hallway."

Anko, breathing heavily at this point, released her hold on Katana's shirt, letting her fall to the ground with a heavy thud. Hizoku took a step towards her, but was far too unnerved by Anko to go any closer. "I needs some dango," Anko muttered, staring down at Katana. "And a shot of sake. Actually, make it two. And you better have a good story, 'Tana! Or I'll make sure with my own two hands that you're dead!"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Well, damn… And you expect me to believe that?"

"Yes, I do."

Anko scratched the back of her neck and sighed heavily. "Well hell, that's complete bullshit, but I can't say I'm too surprised. It's _you_ after all."

Katana gave a pained laugh. "It's sad that you can believe it for that reason…"

"Eh, whatever. So this is you and Neji's kid?" Anko looked to Hizoku, scanning him up and down. He received the frightening impression that she was either going to hug him or eat him. "Nice work, Katana. You didn't do too badly. He's handsome enough to catch a date." She grinned and pounced at Hizoku, grappling with his surprised figure until she had him in a headlock and gave him a firm noogie.

"OW! What the hell? Get off!"

"Aw come on, Hizo! If your 'Tana's kid, then you're gonna have to handle me! Anko-obasan!"

"What? No way! Mother! Help me!"

Katana gave a laugh. _And he said he didn't want to be a mama's boy. _"No can do! This is your fight, not mine."

There was a knock on the door.

Anko paused in grinding her knuckles into Hizoku's head. "Well aren't we popular today, Kakashi? Check and make sure that it's not Obito or Rin, will you?"

"Don't joke like that, Anko," Kakashi murmured with slight sadness in his voice as he went to the door. He opened it and blinked at their next visitor. "Hello, Neji. Are you here for Katana?"

"Hey! It's the other half of the chromosomes!" Anko dragged Hizoku, his head still under her arm, towards the door. "Aren't you full of surprises, Neji! I knew you and 'Tana were buddies, but never _this _close!" She mussed up Hizoku's hair, eliciting angered protests from the teen.

"Somebody get this psycho bitch off me!" His voice was muffled by her arm.

"I think his face is turning blue, Anko," Kakashi murmured into her ear.

"Oh really?" She released him and Hizoku leaped away, gasping and shaken, his hair in disarray. He sprang to Katana, diving next to her on the couch were she sat. "Hey! His face is fine!" Anko planted her hands on her hips and glared at Kakashi.

"Save me from the monster!" He clung to Katana's arm, two-toned eyes wide with fear.

_Completely a mama's boy._ "Just keep your cool, 'Zoku. She can smell fear." Katana smirked as Hizoku focused his expression to be impassible, taking her entirely seriously. She pressed her lips to his forehead before turning her gaze to Neji. "So you're here to pick us up?"

"You could word it that way if you wanted to," Neji smirked as Katana rose to approach him, Hizoku staying on the side of her body opposite Anko.

"Then I guess we won't keep 'Tana from you any longer!" Anko grinned and slung her arm over Kakashi's shoulder. "But I wouldn't mind letting Hizo hang out longer if you two want to escape alone together. There is soooooo much I want to ask him about." Anko's leer made the teen's heart leap into his throat.

"You'll scar the kid, Anko," Kakashi muttered, rubbing his visible eye.

"Well if he's like his mommy, he wouldn't mind a few scars!"

"Perhaps some other time, Anko," Katana said with a smirk, seeing Hizoku visibly relax.

"Well stop by anytime! And don't surprise me like that! And if you pretend to be dead for another twenty years, I'll gut you alive!"

Hizoku was out the door first, halfway down the stairs before Neji and Katana said their goodbyes and made their way from the apartment. "How the hell did you ever meet her? And how did you survive multiple encounters?"

"I lived with her for most of my life in the Village, actually," Katana said with a reminiscing smirk. "And, trust me, it wasn't easy. She was like the older sister I never had. Well, at least the one that didn't try to shoot me in the chest with an arrow while I slept. And she's just happy to have another kid to mess around with. I was in your shoes when I was about your age. By the way, how long have she and Kakashi been together?" Katana glanced at Neji for an answer.

"Since the Village was rebuilt. She was about to be killed because of someone she was pursuing, but Kakashi went after her and saved her life. It grew from there. Gai of course made Kakashi tell him everything, and he in turn told most of the Village."

"They seem like an unlikely pair."

"Entire opposites." Neji gave her a smirk. "But so are we."

"Hellooooooo! Do you two not realize I'm right here?" Hizoku pushed his way between them, angrily glaring at them each in turn. "So what happened with gramps and his flunkies? Did that woman who saved my ass give 'em what they deserved?"

Neji turned on Hizoku, his hand closing over the front of his shirt, lifting him to his toes. The change was so sudden, both Katana and Hizoku were caught entirely off guard. "If I were any other person, I would beat you for your behavior. But I feel that would do nothing to change your ways." He set Hizoku down firmly on his feet and rubbed his eyes, ignoring Hizoku and Katana's expression of bewilderment. "I had to have quite the battle of words to keep them from sending an assassin squad after you. And I was nearly punished for my arguments. You are luckier than you know that Hanabi-sama is far more independent than the previous Heads of the Main Branch. If it were anyone else, you would have never been allowed to leave that compound with your life. Even now, I highly suggest not venturing anywhere near there."

"That's not going to be a problem," Hizoku muttered, straightening his shirt. "You couldn't get me back to that place if you knocked me out and hog tied me. I'd find away to escape."

"And there is another matter I must tell you about," Neji continued, his tone still holding seriousness. "Naruto said that you were to be tested by a jounin to determine your rank. That testing in going to be in two days from now."

"Jeez, why so soon? Don't think they can give me a break? We just got here."

"That's a compliment, Hizoku," Katana muttered, grasping his shoulder to silence his complaints. "They want to test you so they can see how strong you are and get you out on missions as soon as possible. Naruto obviously thinks that you have potential."

"That, and the Chunin Exams are going to be held very soon," Neji added. "Naruto also may want to have you tested so you can be enrolled."

"Well what if I don't want to? What if I blow your little test? Who ever said that I wanted to be a 'leaf shinobi'? _I_ certainly don't remember voicing such an interest." Hizoku folded his arms over his chest. "Now are we going to get ramen or not?"

Neji was about to respond, when Katana grasped his forearm and locked his eyes. _ I'll talk some sense into him later. Just let him blow off some steam._ "Yeah, we're going, Hizoku. We're going."

He followed them closely, gazing off in every direction. Over the buildings and trees, he could see the wall, the wall that caged the Village in on three sides, the fourth blocked by the mountain with the faces of the Hokages. _This place really is a prison. And none of these people know any better. And they want to shackle me in as well… I'm going to be digging my own grave in this place… But not if I can help it._

;***************;

Author Note: Well, this chapter was ridiculously fun to write, but it did give me a ton of trouble. I had no idea what to do for the flashback... I actually wrote that last. And Anko calls Hizoku "Hizo"... just because she's different XP And the "Anko-obasan" is "Aunt Anko"... So summer heat is draining and recovery from back surgery makes me even more lethargic... Review to me are like apples to Ryuk! If I don't get them, I get twisted up and disfigured XD (and if you don't know who Ryuk is, you can't call yourself an anime lover) But really, tell me your thoughts 'cause I like to know what everyone thinks. And I'm sure lotsa questions will arise from this chap... either send review or wait to read XP Not much else on my mind... Damn, it's August already... Aaaaaanyway, I own nothing, just the OCs & stuff. Peace out.

-cagedbird361


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